This follow-on from Vanda Cain's 'The Hamilton Bitch' completes the sad story of Emma, Lady Hamilton, Admiral Lord Nelson's notorious mistress. This volume picks up Emma's story after Nelson's glorious demise at Trafalgar and takes us to its end, her squalid death in Calais, exactly 200 years ago. This may be a fictional account but the background facts have been meticulously researched by the author and makes this book of interest to the serious historian as well as to those who just love a good period tale. The beauty of this book is that Emma's story is related devoid of the rose-tinted spectacles that so often colour accounts of one of history's more infamous courtesans. Despite her genuine grief at the loss of Nelson, Emma was a dyed in the wool party girl, leading a alcohol-fueled lifestyle that led to her financial ruin and early death. The author believes she has now completed her Nelson adventure but what about the prequels? Surely Nelson's earlier loves, Mary Simpson, Elizabeth Andrews, Mary Moutray and Adelaide Correglia each deserve the Vanda Cain treatment.
Ray
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