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Elizabeth: The Scandalous Life of an Eighteenth-Century Duchess
Elizabeth Chudleigh was one of the eighteenth century's most colourful characters. Born into impoverished gentility, her beauty, wit and vitality soon earned her a place at the centre of court life. When she married the Duke of Kingston in 1769 she had reached the highest rung of the social ladder. But Elizabeth was carrying a dark secret. In 1744 she had secretly married a naval lieutenant called Augustus Hervey, and after the Duke's death her first marriage was discovered. Bigamy fever swept London society and, in a very public trial, Elizabeth was found guilty. But her strength of character ensured that, even when her friends deserted her, her courage and zest for life did not. In an engaging history of this strong and wilful woman, Gervat shows there was far more to Elizabeth than the caricature villain her contemporaries made her out to be.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 17, 2011
Elizabeth Chudleigh was well-born, beautiful, and lively, but her family lacked the money and property she needed to make her way successfully in the world of aristocratic eighteenth-century England. She did manage, through connections, to be appointed Maid Of Honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales. The money that position brought her was her only real income, so when she impulsively decided to marry Augustus Hervey, even better-born but just as propertyless, the marriage had to be kept secret. The relationship very quickly went sour and the couple separated. Their marriage was rather an open secret but not officially recognised. Years later, an aging society beauty and hostess, mistress to the very wealthy Duke of Kingston, she married the Duke (for whom she seems to have had real love). Trouble was, her first husband was still alive. Before they married, she and the duke got a judgement from the ecclesiastical court that the earlier marriage was not valid so she was free to marry. After the duke's death, his disinherited relatives decided to kick up a fuss about the marriage in hopes of invalidating the will. Thus arose one of the great scandals of later eighteenth-century England when Elizabeth, putative Duchess of Kingston, was put on trial for bigamy. She liked good clothes, expensive decor, rich food, and richer jewellery, and was given to acting more on impulse and emotion than on logic or good sense; those who knew of her gossiped and disapproved, but those who knew her liked her for her good nature and willingness to amuse and be amused. The case is an interesting lens through which to view all sorts of social and cultural matters. Gervat could have done much more to examine the implications of Elizabeth's story; her more strictly personal, biographical approach is readable and interesting, but I did wish for more analysis and a broader understanding of her life.
A minor point, but I absolutely hated the cover; it makes the book look like a trashy bodice-ripper or soft-focus romance. The woman pictured isn't even Elizabeth; I guess the existing images of her weren't titillating enough for the marketing department.
A minor point, but I absolutely hated the cover; it makes the book look like a trashy bodice-ripper or soft-focus romance. The woman pictured isn't even Elizabeth; I guess the existing images of her weren't titillating enough for the marketing department.
July 31, 2018
When I read The Empress Of Pleasure: The Life And Adventures Of Teresa Cornelys, Queen Of Masquerades And Casanova's Lover I discovered that one of the lady sponsors of Teresa Cornelys' entertainment club was a maid-of-honour to Augusta, dowager Princess of Wales who was really not a maid (and many of her contemporaries said she was scarcely honourable) but a secretly married woman. This book is about her, Elizabeth Chudleigh, who secretly married the underage Augustus Hervey (later the Earl of Bristol), and separated from him just as secretly to become the mistress, later wife, of the Duke of Kingston.
Elizabeth had several problems about these marriages:
1) Her midnight marriage to Hervey was clandestine. It wasn't written into the parish register until just before the minister who conducted the service died. (That was when it was likely that her husband would soon be the Earl of Bristol.) Elizabeth remained Miss Chudleigh in order to keep her place, and her salary, as a maid-of-honour. She needed the money.
2) Elizabeth and Augustus soon tired of each other and separated. They had a daughter, who died soon after birth. Augustus Hervey's sickly brother remain healthy enough to remain the Earl of Bristol for years. The fact that they had had a child made their marriage valid, even though Hervey was underage when they married.
3) Elizabeth and the very rich Duke of Kingston fell in love and after 20 years wanted to get married, but neither Elizabeth nor Hervey could afford a divorce. Elizabeth was told of a legal fudge: all but one witness to her marriage to Hervey were dead. Only the minister's widow knew about the addition of the marriage to the register - which wasn't even the official register, just a blank book the lawyer insisted be used. No one really knew about the dead infant. And Hervey had not yet been 21 at the time. So the ecclesiastical authorities ruled on what evidence was (not) presented that there had been no legal marriage. Elizabeth married the Duke of Kingston.
4) Five years later, the Duke died, leaving all to his wife. His sister naturally did not like that, so she and her sons brought suit that the will was invalid because Elizabeth was a bigamist. Hervey was now the Earl of Bristol and he did not want Elizabeth as his wife. The witness to their marriage, and the minister's widow, threaten to reveal all. The society gossips, who didn't like Elizabeth's moral character, were eager to see her de-duchessed and imprisoned for bigamy.
What's a gentlewoman to do?
Elizabeth had several problems about these marriages:
1) Her midnight marriage to Hervey was clandestine. It wasn't written into the parish register until just before the minister who conducted the service died. (That was when it was likely that her husband would soon be the Earl of Bristol.) Elizabeth remained Miss Chudleigh in order to keep her place, and her salary, as a maid-of-honour. She needed the money.
2) Elizabeth and Augustus soon tired of each other and separated. They had a daughter, who died soon after birth. Augustus Hervey's sickly brother remain healthy enough to remain the Earl of Bristol for years. The fact that they had had a child made their marriage valid, even though Hervey was underage when they married.
3) Elizabeth and the very rich Duke of Kingston fell in love and after 20 years wanted to get married, but neither Elizabeth nor Hervey could afford a divorce. Elizabeth was told of a legal fudge: all but one witness to her marriage to Hervey were dead. Only the minister's widow knew about the addition of the marriage to the register - which wasn't even the official register, just a blank book the lawyer insisted be used. No one really knew about the dead infant. And Hervey had not yet been 21 at the time. So the ecclesiastical authorities ruled on what evidence was (not) presented that there had been no legal marriage. Elizabeth married the Duke of Kingston.
4) Five years later, the Duke died, leaving all to his wife. His sister naturally did not like that, so she and her sons brought suit that the will was invalid because Elizabeth was a bigamist. Hervey was now the Earl of Bristol and he did not want Elizabeth as his wife. The witness to their marriage, and the minister's widow, threaten to reveal all. The society gossips, who didn't like Elizabeth's moral character, were eager to see her de-duchessed and imprisoned for bigamy.
What's a gentlewoman to do?
August 21, 2018
Elizabeth Chudleigh, a young maid of honour to the Princess of Wales (George III's mother), had a summer romance with a young naval officer on shore leave. She married him in secret. He went back to his ship and she to the Princess's court. Neither could afford to disclose the marriage. She needed her salary and she could not remain a "maid" at court once she married. So, to the world, she was still Miss Elizabeth Chudleigh. When the couple met again, 2 years later, the ardour had cooled. "Marry in haste. Repent at leisure."
She had a few risque moments at court. Apparently she wore a rather scanty costume to a masquerade ball and old King George II liked very much what he saw. So did the wealthy Duke of Kingston, who was 40 to her 17. She became his mistress and, much later, his wife. [The other peeresses were not pleased and they ostracized her.] It was a loving marriage, but short. He died.
Now, the Duke had a sister and the sister's sons brought suit that Elizabeth was not entitled to the estate the Duke left her - and he left her a lot - because she was not really the Duchess of Kingston. She was a bigamist. She said, "No. I'm not. That marriage was invalid under church law because we were underage." Her estranged husband was now an earl, and he wanted to marry; but was he single, or was he married? Did he need to file for divorce from Elizabeth, or had their marriage been annulled years ago. He had thought it had been. And if Elizabeth was convicted by the Lords for bigamy, she could die for it. The Lords did not want to execute her, but how could they get around it?
Some parts of the book are flat. Some parts are interesting - not so much because of her trial but because of the times she lived in (court life, country house life, being a duchess) and because Elizabeth, as a dowager duchess or a countess, travelled the Continent, befriending Catherine the Great of Russia and an archduchess living in Bohemia. This lady lived an interesting life.
She had a few risque moments at court. Apparently she wore a rather scanty costume to a masquerade ball and old King George II liked very much what he saw. So did the wealthy Duke of Kingston, who was 40 to her 17. She became his mistress and, much later, his wife. [The other peeresses were not pleased and they ostracized her.] It was a loving marriage, but short. He died.
Now, the Duke had a sister and the sister's sons brought suit that Elizabeth was not entitled to the estate the Duke left her - and he left her a lot - because she was not really the Duchess of Kingston. She was a bigamist. She said, "No. I'm not. That marriage was invalid under church law because we were underage." Her estranged husband was now an earl, and he wanted to marry; but was he single, or was he married? Did he need to file for divorce from Elizabeth, or had their marriage been annulled years ago. He had thought it had been. And if Elizabeth was convicted by the Lords for bigamy, she could die for it. The Lords did not want to execute her, but how could they get around it?
Some parts of the book are flat. Some parts are interesting - not so much because of her trial but because of the times she lived in (court life, country house life, being a duchess) and because Elizabeth, as a dowager duchess or a countess, travelled the Continent, befriending Catherine the Great of Russia and an archduchess living in Bohemia. This lady lived an interesting life.
August 24, 2012
When I started this book I was fairly familiar with the basics of Elizabeth Chudleigh's life: Maid of Honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales (mother of George III); married to Augustus Hervey (later Earl of Bristol); mistress and later wife to Evelyn Pierrepont, Duke of Kingston; tried for and convicted of bigamy (claimed peer's privilege and thus was not punished); died in exile.
There's a lot more to it than that. I was fascinated to find that the famous bigamy trial would never have happened, were it not that the Duke of Kingston left pretty much all he died possessed of to his beloved wife (and all he died possessed of was a fairly massive fortune), which pissed off his estranged nephew who'd been living on the expectation for years and was now screwed. Said nephew promptly challenged the will and decided that his challenge would have a better chance if it was proved that Elizabeth was a bigamist.
It seems only fair that when she finally died, her affairs were in such a tangle, partly due to the nephew's frantic attempts to get the Duke's money, that a large portion of what he finally inherited was debts and hassle.
This was another good, readable book about a Georgian woman who broke her society's rules and failed to die in disgrace and penury. Good for her!
There's a lot more to it than that. I was fascinated to find that the famous bigamy trial would never have happened, were it not that the Duke of Kingston left pretty much all he died possessed of to his beloved wife (and all he died possessed of was a fairly massive fortune), which pissed off his estranged nephew who'd been living on the expectation for years and was now screwed. Said nephew promptly challenged the will and decided that his challenge would have a better chance if it was proved that Elizabeth was a bigamist.
It seems only fair that when she finally died, her affairs were in such a tangle, partly due to the nephew's frantic attempts to get the Duke's money, that a large portion of what he finally inherited was debts and hassle.
This was another good, readable book about a Georgian woman who broke her society's rules and failed to die in disgrace and penury. Good for her!
July 5, 2014
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12764452
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12764452
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews