The Pocket Guide to Scandals of the Aristocracy

by Andy Hughes

Overview

We were going to call this a Pocket Guide to Noble Scandals but there’s nothing noble about these aristocrats. Tales of greed, list, murder and mayhem litter the pages of Andy Hughes’ must-read book. Whether it’s gambling away their family’s fortune, writing racy poems and shocking decent people, the aristocracy have been at the center of scandals for centuries, abusing their position of power to take advantage of everyone else – or kill those who get in their way. This Pocket Guide to Scandals in the Aristocracy is a race through history, divided into eras to introduce the best – and worst – scurrilous tales from Francis Lovell being bricked up alive in his stately home to the ongoing mystery of Lord Lucan and delicious (but true) gossip which delighted readers when the aristocrats were thinly disguised in the novels of their day. Bring history alive with this fact-filled guide.

You’ll also love: The Pocket Guide to Royal Scandals and The Pocket Guide to Political Scandals, both by Andy Hughes

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844680924
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	05/03/2012
Series:	Pocket Guides Series
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Andy K. Hughes has worked as a journalist for almost twenty years, working for organisations such as ITN, the BBC and London's LBC Radio; his voice has also been heard on Classic FM in the UK as well as on National Public Radio in the U.S; in addition to this he has also been a regular contributor to several well-known magazines. Andy, who has four sons, studied history at university and lives in High Wycombe with his wife Bridget.

Table of Contents

About the Author ix

Acknowledgements x

Chapter 1 Setting the Scene 1

The Real Aristocracy? 9

The Scandal of the Paid For Titles 10

Milestones in Strengthening the 'Reap' Aristocracy 11

Aristocracy and the Press 13

Chapter 2 The Main Big Scandals 15

The Dramatic Ups and Downs of Thomas de Beauchamp 12th Earl of Warwick 15

The Kidnap of Muriella, Daughter of the Thane of Cawdor 16

The Unfortunate Dukes of Bedford 17

The Earls of Bristol and their Shenanigans 18

The Castlehaven Sex Scandal-an earl arranges for his wife to be raped 20

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk-so greedy he was executed 21

Exactly what was the Ridolfi Plot? 22

Eaffaire des Poissons-murder and scandal in France in the 1670s 23

Sorting Out the Dirty Servant-when an aristocrat beds her footman 24

The Battle of the Baths-an angry marquess cuts off his own son 25

Marquise de Sade-a terrible attitude to women and sex-the original sadist 26

The Butcher of Scotland, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland 26

The Scandalous Prince Grigory Potemkin sex with his niece assisting with the coup building a fake village where do we begin? 28

The Randy Servant-Mr MacDonald 29

Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne 31

"The Unhappy Countess,' Beaten and Kidnapped Henry Cyril Paget, the 5th Marquess of Anglesey-The Campest Aristocrat Ever 34

The 7th Earl Beauchamp and His Gay Lovers 36

Grace Dalrymple Elliot, Kidnapped and Almost Guillotined for Her Aristocratic Links 38

The Scandal in the Life of Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire 40

Georgiana's Sister, Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Besborough and a Life of Drama, Scandal and Intrigue 46

William Beckford's Horrible Lust: Paedophile and Proud! 48

The Revenge on Lord William Russell: Stabbing the Boss 49

The Tale of the Transsexual Baron 52

Lady Emma Hamilton and her Affair with Nelson 52

Lady Worsley and Her Lover 54

John Mytton, 'The Mad Aristocrat 56

The Sex Scandals of Lady Ellenborough, Jane Elizabeth Digby 57

The Cleveland Street Scandal 58

Hugh Cecil Lowther-The Earl Obsessed with Yellow 59

Frances Evelyn 'Daisy Greville, a Bed-Hopping Countess 62

Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, The Sexual Predator 63

Vita Sackville-West 53

Edward Fitzgerald, 7th Duke of Leinster, The Bed-Sit Duke 66

Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy Cavendish 67

12th Duke of Manchester, The Conman 69

Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll 69

The Scandalous Mitford Sisters 71

The Colourful Life of Victor Frederick Cochrane Hervey 73

You Can Call Me Lord Lambton-Or Can You? 74

The White Mischief Murder 75

The Lord Montagu Sex Scandal 77

To The Manor Porn 78

The Disappearance of Lord Lucan 79

The Italian Aristocrat Who Fiddled His Visa 82

The Lord Goldsmith Affair 83

The Lusty Lord 83

The Duchess of York's Cash for Access 84

Scotland's Party-Loving Aristocrat 85

Chapter 3 The Nobles, their Responsibilities and Work

The Posh Dosh and Aristocratic Duties 87

Selling off the Family Silver 88

The Servants of the Rich and the Aristocratic Folk of England 89

Chapter 4 The Stately Homes 91

Britain's Lost Aristocratic History 91

Stately Homes & Castles 94

Chapter 5 The House of Lords 109

Useful Contact Details and Research Sources for the House of Lords 109

How to Write to a Member of the House of Lords 110

The House of Lords: Major Developments in a Thousand Years 112

Peers v The People-The 1900 Budget and the 1910 General Election 115

Cash-for-Honours 2006-2007 116

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 117

The Breeding Poor 117

The Hereditary Peerage Association 118

Chapter 6 And Finally 121

Quotations about the Aristocracy 121

Did You Know?-The Aristocrats are a Funny Old Lot! 124

Bibliography 127

Index 129