High Life Low Morals

by Victor Stater

EArly on the morning of 15 November 1712, two prominent members of the aristocracy, the Whig Lord Mohun and the Tory Duke of Hamilton, met in Hyde Park to fight a duel. In a flurry of brutal swordplay that lasted perhaps two minutes, both fell mortally wounded. For months afterwards Stuart society was in uproar, for the duel occured at a moment of grave political crisis. Whigs and Tories, increasingly desperate over the future as Queen Anne neared death, hurled charges of political murder and treasonous plotting at one another. The effects of this fatal encounter were to last for several generations, and over a century later Thackeray used it as the basis for his novel Henry Esmond.

In this fascinating book, Victor Stater takes the duel as a focal point from which to recreate the violent, cynical world of the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth-century British artistocracy. He brings to life the London of Pope and Swift and Defoe, a place of huge financial gains and catastrophic reverses, of street crimes and gambling dens of the infamous Kit-Cat Club. the result is an unforgettable picture of society in upheaval verging on anarchy, and of two men driven by demons of their own making as well as by social forces beyond their control.

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 1999

Reviews

[J.M. Landels · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mixed review. I read the book for research purposes. For the information I got out of it, I'd rate it 5 stars. The research that went into it and the end notes are fabulous.

However the presentation is lacking. Long chapters composed of long paragraphs with no section breaks -- even where they would be logical -- makes it a slow read and difficult to cross-reference.

The book tells the of the events leading up to the famous duel between the 4th Duke of Hamilton and the 4th Lord Mohun, the duel itself, and the aftermath. The author makes an attempt at using some creative non-fiction style in places, but it's sporadic. The mix of politics, legal wrangling, and licentiousness should make for a captivating story, but author didn't quite get the balance right. Sadly, the principles of both the duel and the book are extremely unlikeable (Hamilton a tad less so than Mohun, perhaps), and it comes as a relief rather than a tragedy when they finally duel. The chapter dealing with the aftermath of the duel, featuring the Duchess of Hamilton and Lady Mohun, is the most interesting one in the book. Those two could carry a book on their own.

I blame the editor for the book's failings. A creative non-fiction editor could have elevated this to something as engaging as, say, Stephen Talty's Empire of the Blue Water. That said, I will probably pick up other books by Stater, as the content is excellent.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating story told in a gripping narrative that was hard to put down. Stater shines a light on the lives of the one percent in the late 17 th and early 18 th century Britain. The story revolves around an 80 year battle between two powerful families for one estate that raged through multiple courts, the House of Lords, and all the way up to the monarchy.
Stater gives an overview of the changing political situation in Stuart England and details the pressures on the two main characters that drove them and their allies to fight so desperately, climaxing in a deadly duel.
Compelling from beginning to end, a great read

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively and interesting account of a lesser known historical event., the duel between James, Duke of Hamilton and Charles, Baron Mohun in 1712. It was personal, but was it also political? The book charts the lives of the two antagonists from their birth to their last fatal encounter. Lord Mohun became a byword for amorality, hard-living and wickedness, yet alongside an astonishingly rake-hell private life he was a hard-working and trusted politician. He turns up in semi-fictional guise in Thackeray's 1852 novel The History of Henry Esmond as a double-dyed villain, whose real life end was just punishment for his sins.

http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/201...

[Kit Kincade · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this is a very complicated story, including many generations & a cast of thousands, it was still hard to follow in this particular presentation. Clearly the author has done a substantial amount of research, I just question whether or not all of it had to go in the book. It made it hard to follow the thread of the primary narrative.

[Stevie Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping slice of real history, covering the intrigue and politics leading up to the duel of the title, and with a chapter on what happened next too. Fascinating stuff, and I'd love to find more titles written along similar lines.