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Emma Hamilton
Emma Hamilton was lover and confidente to some of the greatest men of her time.
Born a poor country girl of immense charm with kindness and ambition, Emma Hamilton becomes the wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador to Naples, then meets and falls in love with the darling of Britain - Horatio Nelson. With extraordinary sensitivity, Norah Lofts has captured the changing, volatile, intriguing character of Emma Hamilton. Her lucid narrative is enhanced by selections from Emma's letters and many portraits by the great painters of her time.
Non-fiction
192 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 1978
370 people want to read
About the author
Norah Lofts
105 books309 followersNorah Ethel Robinson Lofts Jorisch (27 August 1904–10 September 1983) was a 20th century best-selling British author. She wrote over fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she also wrote non-fiction and short stories. Many of her novels, including her Suffolk Trilogy, follow the history of a specific house and the residents that lived in it.
Lofts was born in Shipdham, Norfolk in England. She also published using the pseudonyms Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis. Norah Lofts chose to release her murder-mystery novels under the pen name Peter Curtis because she did not want the readers of her historic fiction to pick up a murder-mystery novel and expect classic Norah Lofts historical fiction. However, the murders still show characteristic Norah Lofts elements. Most of her historical novels fall into two general categories: biographical novels about queens, among them Anne Boleyn, Isabella of Castile, and Catherine of Aragon; and novels set in East Anglia centered around the fictitious town of Baildon (patterned largely on Bury St. Edmunds). Her creation of this fictitious area of England is reminiscent of Thomas Hardy's creation of "Wessex"; and her use of recurring characters such that the protagonist of one novel appears as a secondary character in others is even more reminiscent of William Faulkner's work set in "Yoknapatawpha County," Mississippi. Norah Lofts' work set in East Anglia in the 1930s and 1940s shows great concern with the very poor in society and their inability to change their conditions. Her approach suggests an interest in the social reformism that became a feature of British post-war society.
Several of her novels were turned into films. Jassy was filmed as Jassy (1947) starring Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price. You're Best Alone was filmed as Guilt is My Shadow (1950). The Devil's Own (also known as The Little Wax Doll and Catch As Catch Can) was filmed as The Witches (1966). The film 7 Women was directed by John Ford and based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts.
Lofts was born in Shipdham, Norfolk in England. She also published using the pseudonyms Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis. Norah Lofts chose to release her murder-mystery novels under the pen name Peter Curtis because she did not want the readers of her historic fiction to pick up a murder-mystery novel and expect classic Norah Lofts historical fiction. However, the murders still show characteristic Norah Lofts elements. Most of her historical novels fall into two general categories: biographical novels about queens, among them Anne Boleyn, Isabella of Castile, and Catherine of Aragon; and novels set in East Anglia centered around the fictitious town of Baildon (patterned largely on Bury St. Edmunds). Her creation of this fictitious area of England is reminiscent of Thomas Hardy's creation of "Wessex"; and her use of recurring characters such that the protagonist of one novel appears as a secondary character in others is even more reminiscent of William Faulkner's work set in "Yoknapatawpha County," Mississippi. Norah Lofts' work set in East Anglia in the 1930s and 1940s shows great concern with the very poor in society and their inability to change their conditions. Her approach suggests an interest in the social reformism that became a feature of British post-war society.
Several of her novels were turned into films. Jassy was filmed as Jassy (1947) starring Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price. You're Best Alone was filmed as Guilt is My Shadow (1950). The Devil's Own (also known as The Little Wax Doll and Catch As Catch Can) was filmed as The Witches (1966). The film 7 Women was directed by John Ford and based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 23, 2012
Emma Hamilton was lover and confidante to some of the greatest men of her time. Born Amy Lyon, she was the daughter of a blacksmith near Cheshire, England. Her father died when she was two months old, and young Amy was raised by her mother, Mary, with no formal education. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Emma Carew, in 1781 when Emma was just sixteen years old. She then became a model for the English artist George Romney in 1782 under the name Emma Hart.
A woman of immense charm, kindness and ambition, Emma became the wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador to Naples in 1791. She was twenty-six, her husband was sixty. Two years later, she met and fell in love with the darling of Britain - Horatio Nelson. During their subsequent seven year love affair, she gave birth to a daughter, Horatia, whose birth she managed to keep secret from Sir William and London society.
After Horatio Nelson's death in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar, Emma fell into poverty, moved to France to escape her creditors, and later fell victim to alcoholism, dying of liver failure in 1815. Horatia Nelson eventually married a Reverend in 1822 and they had ten children. Although, Horatia acknowledged that she was the daughter of Horatio Nelson, she never publicly acknowledged being Emma Hamilton's daughter.
I loved this book. Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Lady Emma Hamilton's life, only that she was the mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson. I give Emma Hamilton an A+! and will put it on my keeper shelf to read again sometime soon.
A woman of immense charm, kindness and ambition, Emma became the wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador to Naples in 1791. She was twenty-six, her husband was sixty. Two years later, she met and fell in love with the darling of Britain - Horatio Nelson. During their subsequent seven year love affair, she gave birth to a daughter, Horatia, whose birth she managed to keep secret from Sir William and London society.
After Horatio Nelson's death in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar, Emma fell into poverty, moved to France to escape her creditors, and later fell victim to alcoholism, dying of liver failure in 1815. Horatia Nelson eventually married a Reverend in 1822 and they had ten children. Although, Horatia acknowledged that she was the daughter of Horatio Nelson, she never publicly acknowledged being Emma Hamilton's daughter.
I loved this book. Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Lady Emma Hamilton's life, only that she was the mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson. I give Emma Hamilton an A+! and will put it on my keeper shelf to read again sometime soon.
June 18, 2019
I will admit that my interest in Emma Hamilton stems mostly from the wonderful paintings of her by George Romney. I could have learned as much detail as I needed to know about her from Wikipedia or the Vivien Leigh movie. But this is a lovely, heavily illustrated book. I've not read anything by Norah Lofts since my youth, and the prose style here seemed very old fashioned.... I would have guessed this was written a lot longer ago than 1978. But, you know, nice pictures.
July 16, 2013
This 1978 work follows Lofts' previously successful efforts at historical non-fiction--Domestic Life in England and Queens of England. From the inside jacket: "With extraordinary sensitivity, Norah Lofts has captured the changing, volatile, intriguing character of Emma Hamilton. Her lucid narrative is enhanced by selections from Emma's letters and many portraits by the great painters of her time. This combination has undoubtedly produced the finest biography ever of Emma Hamilton."
High praise indeed, and worthy of it.
High praise indeed, and worthy of it.
July 30, 2014
Great choice for a first biography of Lady Emma Hamilton. Well written and researched with beautiful illustrations. Out of print, but I easily found a second hand copy from an online retailer.
October 19, 2011
Biography.
August 26, 2020
Biography of a famous English courtesan, well written but not as interesting as I had hoped.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews