Folio Archives 149: Aristocrats by Stella Tillyard 2007
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Aristocrats : Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox 1740-1832 by Stella Tillyard 2007
A treasure trove exists, consisting of thousands of letters between the Lennox sisters and their descendants, that cover nearly a century of life in England, Ireland and France, but are concentrated on the period from 1740 to 1806. These letters are intricately detailed and discuss everything – politics (in which the family was heavily involved), servants, travel, betrayal, adultery, education, homes, illness (even down to details of the women’s menstrual cycles), etiquette, divorce, guests, entertainments, revolution (in Ireland and France) – in fact everything that a family at the head of the aristocracy, but just below royalty (one member of the family nearly married the King), was involved with in England at a time when the aristocracy was at its peak.
The sisters varied very significantly in their personalities and fecundity. From the reserved and polite, to the outrageously flirtatious; from having only one sickly child to an amazing total of 22 children. The husbands varied from fellow aristocrats, to ambitious politicians and humble tutors.
There are numerous family trees included in the lavishly illustrated book, so that the intricacies of the rather complex family relationships can be followed.
The 425 page book looks long, but it has a more than 90 colour and monotone pictures integrated into the text, and the bibliography and index take up 37 pages at the back of the book. The paper is semi-gloss Lumimatt to allow for the picture printing.
There is a five page foreword by the author and a brief preface. The endpapers are plain dark blue, and the book is fully bound in cloth with a detail from a painting of Emily blocked on the front cover. The 24.5x17.4x4.2cm. slipcase is dark blue.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
A treasure trove exists, consisting of thousands of letters between the Lennox sisters and their descendants, that cover nearly a century of life in England, Ireland and France, but are concentrated on the period from 1740 to 1806. These letters are intricately detailed and discuss everything – politics (in which the family was heavily involved), servants, travel, betrayal, adultery, education, homes, illness (even down to details of the women’s menstrual cycles), etiquette, divorce, guests, entertainments, revolution (in Ireland and France) – in fact everything that a family at the head of the aristocracy, but just below royalty (one member of the family nearly married the King), was involved with in England at a time when the aristocracy was at its peak.
The sisters varied very significantly in their personalities and fecundity. From the reserved and polite, to the outrageously flirtatious; from having only one sickly child to an amazing total of 22 children. The husbands varied from fellow aristocrats, to ambitious politicians and humble tutors.
There are numerous family trees included in the lavishly illustrated book, so that the intricacies of the rather complex family relationships can be followed.
The 425 page book looks long, but it has a more than 90 colour and monotone pictures integrated into the text, and the bibliography and index take up 37 pages at the back of the book. The paper is semi-gloss Lumimatt to allow for the picture printing.
There is a five page foreword by the author and a brief preface. The endpapers are plain dark blue, and the book is fully bound in cloth with a detail from a painting of Emily blocked on the front cover. The 24.5x17.4x4.2cm. slipcase is dark blue.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
