List Price: $34.95 Details

Save: $13.98 (40%)

$3.99 delivery October 31 - November 1. Details

Select delivery location

Only 15 left in stock - order soon.

$$20.97 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

BookMarkIt

Ships from

BookMarkIt

Sold by

BookMarkIt

Sold by

BookMarkIt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.

Read full return policy

Details

$3.99 delivery November 7 - 22. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by WeBuyBooks-UK

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$18.15
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Prime Deals, USA

Added

Not added

$34.95
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Follow the Author

Tim Clarke

The Countess: The Scandalous Life of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey Hardcover – July 15, 2016

by Tim Clarke (Author)

4.3 16 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$20.97

$18.15

$8.53

Paperback

"Please retry"

$7.58

$7.01

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$20.97","priceAmount":20.97,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"20","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"97","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"iNAYg%2FvHgdTryilrAPUIFZsJ0FXEy4ROyQ4TVQMPKlkN8nzG5OYeaF0EjPltHPS23aPMTlM4q%2BKc%2FVEDMw8Ir5bPRqneazSQLIjGq8CC88LCQCxuTXmuwzqyb1CWa8f2OsMNrXS%2B1xGvp6qY2ggF9BfL18lk%2FEpR2VH3kTP0VdVphVu0R%2FnATQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.54","priceAmount":8.54,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"54","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"iNAYg%2FvHgdTryilrAPUIFZsJ0FXEy4RO9nV8aDiJF1a83UqVN4xTlxwxw6hynM8AezbpdCTJqbFzD0ge9gRJdJ2SSBFgaKMF%2B7qAXS40BWoWIltR%2FkSQBKL9S3dDMCMoj4LHihn981oAhmDd4gm5PZRjR1jtx9vyGHteOo56i70q38RO67fEh9QlreSSomIY","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

One of the great beauties of Georgian society, Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, was a woman of enormous style and spirit whose life revolved around her pleasures. Clever and witty, her charm was legendary, earning her the nickname in the contemporary press of 'The Enchantress'. She glittered in an aristocratic century.However, she was also unprincipled and malevolent. After providing her husband with an heir, she duly abandoned the dull respectability of married life for the whirl of the faster set of society and a number of high-profile and scandalous affairs. Through her relationship with the Prince Regent, she enraged the country and threatened the monarchy, blackening the prince's reputation for posterity.Despite being demonised by historians and subjected to rumour and myth, this is the first biography ever written of her extraordinary and dramatic life. Tim Clarke skilfully pieces together the truth about the Countess of Jersey, and dispels many of the assumptions that, even in the highest academic circles, continue to surround her to this day, leaving us with a very intimate portrait of a life lived in defiance of social convention.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Amberley Publishing
Publication date

July 15, 2016
Dimensions

6.14 x 1.4 x 9.21 inches
ISBN-10

1445656264
ISBN-13

978-1445656267
See all details

Colin Brown
37
Paperback
27 offers from $2.49
Antonia Fraser
102
Hardcover
46 offers from $14.48
Nancy Goldstone
412
Paperback
32 offers from $7.59
Tracy Borman
426
Paperback
45 offers from $11.01

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Clarke was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge University, where he won a scholarship in history. He chose, however, to spend his career working in the City of London as a partner in one of the world’s leading international law firms. Honouring a promise he had made to himself when he went up to Cambridge, he retired early from the law to become, once more, a historian. His biography of Frances, Countess of Jersey, is his first book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amberley Publishing (July 15, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1445656264
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1445656267
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.54 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 1.4 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,803,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,544 in Royalty Biographies
- #6,338 in Historical British Biographies
- #42,549 in Historical Study (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 16 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Tim Clarke

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

16 global ratings

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Bashir A

A Vixen or Heroine?

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

Frances Villiers was a wicked anti heroine. Beautiful, Catty, petite, elegant to a degree, she bursts out from this book like a vague, unfinished portrait. She was not a natural letter writer, as she was a capital extrovert. She never read books either, which explains a lot about her sense of elocution in the letter writing abilities. Thankfully, her robust & forceful character was able to annoy & irritate great contemporary dames who frequently gossiped about her in letters. (to my utter delight) I believe this is her first official biography. Although enjoyable, and informative to read; i was still not satisfied as to unmasking this enigmatic countess. There are many questions unanswered, historical tidbits unexplained. Alas, maybe a good vixen is left unrevealed.

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2019

I am really excited to see this biography come out, and there is much to appreciate here. Tim Clarke has pursued and gotten access to a lot of materials that aren't readily available, and put together an interesting and coherent narrative.

I'm disappointed that several of the major mysteries of the Countess's life are not explored at all. Where did she grow up? How did she meet the Earl? Why did they marry? Amazing to have a biography that skips so swiftly to "the good parts" without more effort at investigating her early life.

I'm completely befuddled, however, by Mr. Clarke's rush to negative judgement of his subject, based on some leaps of logic. In Mr. Clarke's estimation, we must all blame Lady Jersey for the significantly bad reputation...of George IV. How? Why?

Her "real mischief," it turns out, according to his final chapter, "the Verdict of History," is that "...King George IV went to his grave disgraced by, and to be remembered in light of, his many misdeeds, not least his marriage to and treatment of Princess Caroline. And in that Frances Jersey played no mean part." (p. 300). "That," he concludes, "was her legacy and for that and what flowed from it she must take the blame." He states in a matter of fact manner that the Prince of Wales and Lady Jersey together put the entire British Monarchy "under threat."

Perhaps detecting that this is a problematic way to end his 300 page biography, he goes on to say, "that apart," she was "not all bad."

What is this about? Why is there a need to do a summary to find her odious? And why does she need to be judged on her supposed influence on the Prince of Wales? Mr Clarke himself notes at multiple points in the biography that George IV was not particularly subject to lasting influence, and was not very consistent. Moreover, George's affair with Lady Jersey while he was Prince of Wales lasted for perhaps 5 years, and the bulk of his actions towards his wife occurred decades after the end of their affair, and that affair did not end cordially.

In his rush to judgement, moreover, Mr. Clarke has made a mistake which I don't understand, as the first major biographer of Frances Villiers. He opens his "verdict" chapter by stating that you can pretty much sum up Lady Jersey's reputation by noticing that there is no memorial plaque for Frances Jersey in the Earl of Jersey's family vault in the Middleton Stoney Parish Church.

This is simply not true. I have been there. I have photographed the plaque. I have no idea how this biography could end on this triumphant negative note, and for the basic fact of the matter to be wrong.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Msfit

a real labour of love, industry and commitment

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

I know an enormous amount about this era and this character so was really interested to read this book. The research is immaculate; a real labour of love, industry and commitment. The prose style is occasionally pedestrian and rather less ambitious; irritating to read 'as we shall see' quite so often, when the author refers to some letter or snippet of gossip that he is going to go into later. But as all good biographers should be, he's in love with his subject, and one senses he cannot wait to get on to his next revelation.

Too much speculation rather than historical fact, but this is nevertheless a welcome addition for those who love biographies of the personalities in this period.

One person found this helpful

PAB

Well researched and readable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

A scholarly and very well researched biography of Frances Countess of Jersey. The author has produced a readable and detailed account of Frances Villiers' life, clearing up some of the many misconceptions that have contributed to her poor reputation. He has identified instances when other historians have confused references to her daughter in law, Sally Countess of Jersey, attributing them wrongly to Frances.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Regency period; it paints a very good picture of the aristocratic personalities of the day and their family connections.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

It's always a pleasure to read an approachable history book ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

It's always a pleasure to read an approachable history book. This first book from Tim Clarke is well researched and well written. More please Tim.

2 people found this helpful

Pippa

A bit disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

A fascinating story but sadly written in a very dry way.

Suzanne Dixon

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

The book is useful and delivery was timely.
Well done

One person found this helpful

See more reviews