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An Infamous Mistress: The Life, Loves and Family of the Celebrated Grace Dalrymple Elliott Hardcover – August 5, 2016

by Joanne Major (Author), Sarah Murden (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars 38 ratings
Divorced wife, infamous mistress, prisoner in France during the French Revolution and the reputed mother of the Prince of Wales' child, notorious eighteenth-century courtesan Grace Dalrymple Elliott lived an amazing life in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century London and Paris.

Strikingly tall and beautiful, later lampooned as 'Dally the Tall' in newspaper gossip columns, she left her Scottish roots and convent education behind, to re-invent herself in a 'marriage à-la-mode', but before she was even legally an adult she was cast off and forced to survive on just her beauty and wits.

The authors of this engaging and, at times, scandalous book intersperse the story of Grace's tumultuous life with anecdotes of her fascinating family, from those who knew Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, and who helped to abolish slavery, to those who were, like Grace, mistresses of great men.

Whilst this book is the most definitive biography of Grace Dalrymple Elliott ever written, it is much more than that; it is Grace's family history that traces her ancestors from their origin in the Scottish borders, to their move south to London. It follows them to France, America, India, Africa and elsewhere, offering a broad insight into the social history of the Georgian era, comprising the ups and downs, the highs and lows of life at that time.

This is the remarkable and detailed story of Grace set, for the first time, in the context of her wider family and told more completely than ever before.
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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen and Sword History
  4. Publication date
    August 5, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    6.14 x 9.21 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1473844835
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1473844834
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Courtesan. Spy. Survivor. A gripping and meticulously researched account of the swashbuckling life of one of history's most overlooked heroines. - Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Scandalous Lady WAn Infamous Mistress is a fascinating read, yet it's more than that. If anything, it's a shining example of research done well, presented coherently on the perfect subject: a powerful courtesan that time forgot. - History of Royals magazine.This major new biography explores the life, loves and family of this celebrated personality who ended up as a prisoner of war during the French Revolution. Set for the first time in the context of Grace's wider family, this is a compelling tale of scandal and intrigue. - Scots Heritage magazineThis tale of scandal and intrigue will not only appeal to history buffs, but to those who enjoy a ripping yarn. As well as being an in-depth social and family history, An Infamous Mistress is simply a great story. - Scottish Field

From the Back Cover

The definitive biography of Grace Dalrymple Elliott

Set in the context of her wider family history

Offers a broad insight into Georgian-era social history

Includes rarely seen illustrations of this notorious eighteenth-century courtesan and her family

Reveals new and unknown information about Grace

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen and Sword History
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 5, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1473844835
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1473844834
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.2 out of 5 stars 38 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Sarah Murden

    Sarah Murden

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    Sarah Murden, FRHistS, is an 18th century historian and genealogist from Nottinghamshire, who focusses mainly, but not exclusively, on the lives of women of the period. As well as co-authoring several books, Sarah hosts the extremely popular website – All Things Georgian, which looks at all aspects of the Georgia era. The website contains around 700 articles, everything from fashion to murder to royalty, in fact anything that piques her curiosity.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Joanne Major

    Joanne Major

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    I live just outside the historic medieval city of Lincoln in the UK. Spending my days with one foot in the present and one in the past, I have a particular love for the long eighteenth century. History, reading, writing and story-telling are my passions.

    Please visit my webpage for more news and to read my blog posts: www.joannemajor.com. You can also find me on Facebook (@JoanneMajorAuthor) and on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram as joannemajor3.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

3.2 out of 5 stars
38 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Stew Ross
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Forgotten Courtesan
    Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a fascinating book. The research that Jo and Sarah put into the book and Grace's life is incredible. Other than Grace's memoirs as an eyewitness to the French Revolution and "news" accounts from London's gossip rags, there isn't a whole lot of information to go on when documenting Grace's life. The authors have done a wonderful job of piecing it all together. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Debbie
    1.0 out of 5 stars Awful
    Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I was looking for an interesting story of this women Grace Dalrymplr Elliott. I had seen a show on You Tube about this painting. The authors who wrote this book were extremely dry and did not have anything of worth to say.
    Very disappointing
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Sherry Dylewski
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Not as informative as had hoped.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Debbie Sheley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Historical people and the past
    Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet. But I have read the introduction and can’t wait to get into the rest of the book. I love history and I think this book will tell me a lot.
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  • S. M. Vennema
    3.0 out of 5 stars They manage to make an incredibble life as dull as possible.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2018
    I then spent a couple hours attempting to read "An Infamous Mistress," which is meant to be a biography of Dally the Tall, who lived a very interesting I life I very much wanted to learn about. I say attempted as it was written by genealogists and read like it. I got mid way through chapter five wading through complicated genealogical history of everyone vaguely connected to her family through blood, marriage, or sex, and I just... gave up, Dally herself having been only occasionally mentioned up to this point and my interest in her career as a demi-rep and her experiences in the french revolution weren't enough to get me much past a hundredish years of her Aunt's lover's family history. I would still like to read a biography of her, but not this one.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • City_Girl_212
    5.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched and thoroughly entertaining book!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2016
    I don’t often find biographies on women of this era and when I do, I make it a point to check them out. This one has earned a permanent place in my library and is a great research tool for anyone interested in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It’s a well-researched, thoroughly entertaining book about the life of a woman you won’t find in your history books. The life of Grace Dalrymple Elliott reads like a Georgian era adventure story, but it’s all true. She was a notorious courtesan in her day, a divorced wife, a prisoner during the French Revolution and the reputed mother of a child she had with the Prince of Wales. Joanne Major and Sarah Murden provide amazing details to bring her story to life and to give us a rich look at the history of the time. Grace's story proves that history isn’t boring. I highly recommend An Infamous Mistress for all you history fans out there.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Richard Holyoak
    1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Rubbish
    Report
  • Suzanne
    2.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, could use better writing style
    Reviewed in Canada on February 24, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Although impeccably researched, "An Infamous Mistress" is filled with anecdotes related to a vast number of people who interact with Grace. I was disappointed in this, as I wanted to learn more about this fascinating woman, but instead read volumes about her aunts, her father, her brother... True they were part of her life, but should remain in the side lines and not abduct the story. As well, the writing style is academic and does not captivate the reader. It became a bore to continue to read pages after pages of dry writing about Grace's relatives when her life was anything but a bore. This was a woman who captivated the powerful and famous men of both England and Europe, surely her passion and enchanting style could have been conveyed in this novel. It was disappointing to me, although I was intrigued enough to continue to the end.
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  • fun, fun, fun
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Great book, well researched, thorough and informative
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  • Rani
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Interesting Woman
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed the start of this, and it’s clear that courtesan Grace Dalrymple Elliott had a rich and complex life, one that crossed the social contours of America, France and England. Whilst I overall liked this book, at times it was rather dry and some pizzazz was needed in the writing, in order to, engage me at least, a little more potently.

    I really wish the portraits and other images positioned at the end had been integrated throughout the book (as appropriate), as this would have added a nice dimension to the book.

    Don’t think I’ll re-read this.

    £1.98 on Amazon 8th September 2019.
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