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The Illustrious Lady: A Biography of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine
The Illustrious A Biography of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland
- GenresBiography
248 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1980
2 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Hamilton
105 books2 followersLibrarian Note:
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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 12, 2019
Mistresses, concubines, whores – whatever title you give them; these women seem to go hand-in-hand with monarchs. Whatever culture, country, or governmental organization that may be in place; the “love them or hate them” women are just a few steps behind the ruler. Literally. English history has been no exception to this rule and King Charles III (17th century England) was one of the kings of mistresses (no pun intended) with womanizing being the name of his game. Despite his numerous famous mistresses (my favorite being Nell Gwynne); the name most people know that controlled his court for a strong decade was the infamous Barbara Villiers. Elizabeth Hamilton attempts to portrait and offer a biography of this insatiable woman in, “The Illustrious Lady: A Biography of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland”.
Surprisingly, despite her fame, Barbara Villiers is not the subject of countless biographies making Hamilton’s “The Illustrious Lady” ambitious in nature. Hamilton’s approach is heavy on the scholarly-end eschewing a light narrative for a more research-centric focal point that bombards the reader with facts and history. This can occasionally be described as ‘dry’ and slow-moving plus constricted by the fact that much of the text doesn’t truly reveal Barbara’s whereabouts and her inner-workings but more so the figures and events surrounding her. Despite this, “The Illustrious Lady” isn’t weak or poor in its impact as it is rampant with information that even those readers familiar with the subjects will find new and/or refreshing making for a multi-faceted read.
Hamilton is direct in her writing style and is light on any biases or points of view, offering readers a clear and object macro view at the life and times of Barbara Villiers. This presents readers with perspectives that are atypical (as most texts simply pen Villiers as a conceited, over-sexed, entitled snob) and allows self-judgments to be made rather than be retrained in a box or stereotype.
Even with its academic landscape, “The Illustrious Lady” is easy-to-read and accessible to even the general audience. The content can, at times, feel overwhelming and yet is not difficult to grasp or remember. Hamilton excels at reigning in both the material and audience.
“The Illustrious Lady” does suffer from bouts of repetition both in overall material and block quotes. Older publications (this has a publication date of that from the late 80s) tend to be lax of editing and the text could have certainly used a bit of cleaning up. This can also be said for its overall clunky and disjointed nature with an up-and-down feel and pace. None of these bring a complete downfall to “The Illustrious Lady”, however, but it can bring some lags in the readership and also encourage one to skim certain passages.
This is offset by the multitudes of primary sources, account books, quotes, diaries, etc; included in “The Illustrious Lady” resulting in a strong and credible piece. As the pages progress, Villiers begins to be revealed on a much deeper level quickening the pace and encouraging page turning with unexpected facts and “ah-ha!” moments.
The conclusion of “The Illustrious Lady” is memorable and summarizes the overall text in a solid way with an entire chapter dedicated to the legacy of Barbara and the happenings of her offspring and family. This, again, makes Barbara and her life more relatable and certainly closes the book on a heavy (in a positive way) note.
Although it is clear that Hamilton conducted an overwhelming investigation and cited many sources for the completion of “The Illustrious Lady”; the Bibliography list is minimal and the notes are not annotated. This is sort of expected from an older piece but still disappointing, nevertheless.
“The Illustrious Lady” isn’t perfect or absolutely mind-blowing but it is a look into the life of Barbara Villiers and her interactions with the court of King Charles II. “The Illustrious Lady” is suggested for those readers interested in Barbara, King Charles II, his mistresses, and Stuart England.
Surprisingly, despite her fame, Barbara Villiers is not the subject of countless biographies making Hamilton’s “The Illustrious Lady” ambitious in nature. Hamilton’s approach is heavy on the scholarly-end eschewing a light narrative for a more research-centric focal point that bombards the reader with facts and history. This can occasionally be described as ‘dry’ and slow-moving plus constricted by the fact that much of the text doesn’t truly reveal Barbara’s whereabouts and her inner-workings but more so the figures and events surrounding her. Despite this, “The Illustrious Lady” isn’t weak or poor in its impact as it is rampant with information that even those readers familiar with the subjects will find new and/or refreshing making for a multi-faceted read.
Hamilton is direct in her writing style and is light on any biases or points of view, offering readers a clear and object macro view at the life and times of Barbara Villiers. This presents readers with perspectives that are atypical (as most texts simply pen Villiers as a conceited, over-sexed, entitled snob) and allows self-judgments to be made rather than be retrained in a box or stereotype.
Even with its academic landscape, “The Illustrious Lady” is easy-to-read and accessible to even the general audience. The content can, at times, feel overwhelming and yet is not difficult to grasp or remember. Hamilton excels at reigning in both the material and audience.
“The Illustrious Lady” does suffer from bouts of repetition both in overall material and block quotes. Older publications (this has a publication date of that from the late 80s) tend to be lax of editing and the text could have certainly used a bit of cleaning up. This can also be said for its overall clunky and disjointed nature with an up-and-down feel and pace. None of these bring a complete downfall to “The Illustrious Lady”, however, but it can bring some lags in the readership and also encourage one to skim certain passages.
This is offset by the multitudes of primary sources, account books, quotes, diaries, etc; included in “The Illustrious Lady” resulting in a strong and credible piece. As the pages progress, Villiers begins to be revealed on a much deeper level quickening the pace and encouraging page turning with unexpected facts and “ah-ha!” moments.
The conclusion of “The Illustrious Lady” is memorable and summarizes the overall text in a solid way with an entire chapter dedicated to the legacy of Barbara and the happenings of her offspring and family. This, again, makes Barbara and her life more relatable and certainly closes the book on a heavy (in a positive way) note.
Although it is clear that Hamilton conducted an overwhelming investigation and cited many sources for the completion of “The Illustrious Lady”; the Bibliography list is minimal and the notes are not annotated. This is sort of expected from an older piece but still disappointing, nevertheless.
“The Illustrious Lady” isn’t perfect or absolutely mind-blowing but it is a look into the life of Barbara Villiers and her interactions with the court of King Charles II. “The Illustrious Lady” is suggested for those readers interested in Barbara, King Charles II, his mistresses, and Stuart England.
June 21, 2020
This is by far one of the best history books I have read in a while: it does not read like a history book. It is very well researched and written. All the characters seem to jump off the page, a testament to the skill of the writer. I highly recommend this book. You are sure to enjoy it whether you are a history buff or just enjoy reading a well written book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews