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Henrietta Howard

King's Mistress, Queen's Servant

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Henrietta Howard

By: Tracy Borman
Narrated by: Julia Franklin
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About this listen

 Henrietta Howard, later Countess of Suffolk, was the long-term mistress and confidante of George II. Orphaned at 12 and dragged into poverty by her brutal husband, Henrietta used her own ingenuity and determination to secure a role at the very heart of the royal court.

But she was far more than mistress to the king; she was a dedicated patron of the arts, a lively and talented intellectual, and a passionate advocate for the rights of women long before the dawn of feminism.

The mark that this enigmatic royal mistress left on the society and culture of early Georgian England was to resonate well beyond the confines of the court, and can still be felt today.__

©2007 Tracy Borman (P)2008 WF Howes Ltd Europe Royalty
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Henrietta Howard (1689-1767) led a long and full life spanning much of the 18th Century. It was a period of great change in England beginning with the end of the reign of Queen Anne and ending with her death in the reign of George III. She knew and corresponded with many of the great men of letters of her age like John Gay, Alexander Pope and Dean Swift as well as friends like Lord Chesterfield. This was a period of letter writing and diaries, as well as gossip, so was well documented and used to great effect in telling this story.

Harriet was Woman of the Bedchamber so moved in court circles. Her life, though difficult, not least because of her brute of a husband, was a fascinating account of this period. This book is well researched and also offers new material on the life of Harriet, Duchess of Suffolk, friend to many of the great men of letters of the age, of Whig politicians and a witness of an age.

The story is well told by Julia Franklin who has a pleasing and clear voice. She brings alive the story of an intelligent, brave and witty woman who, for the most part, steered a steady course through the reefs and shoals of court life.

Henrietta Howard and the Georgian era

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An over-long narrative which recounts the life of a woman whose life seems not to merit such lengthy treatment. She sounds like a sensible and intelligent woman, whose friends included Pope and Swift. Nonetheless she seems to have lived a long and entirely typical life at court - one bad marriage, one good and an affair with George II which is over in the flash of an eye, returning us to a narrative which basically catalogues her long and lightweight correspondence with every courtier or politician of the time. I listened for hours without gaining the slightest insight into why this book was written.

Dreary

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I live near Marble Hill House and I was looking to understand who created it and why. this book more than met my needs in an endlessly interesting manner. excellent.

Fabulous, complete and page turning.

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and informative listen from start to finish of this book. The narrator was very good.

Interesting....

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