The Countess: Seduction, power and the extraordinary life of Emily Cowper

by Jehanne Wake, Katie Wake

'Riveting' -- The Times
'A triumph' -- David Kynaston
'Lively and informative' -- Miranda Seymour
'The resurrection of a remarkable woman erased from history' -- Katy Hessel
'Extraordinary' -- Peter Jones

The spellbinding true story of Emily Cowper, Regency socialite turned Victorian powerbroker

Emily, Countess Cowper was stubborn, beautiful and intensely ambitious. She took Regency society by storm, captivating famous statesmen and the young Queen Victoria.

Born the Hon. Emily Lamb, she was brought up at the centre of glamorous Regency high society with its duels and dissipation. Her godmother was the infamous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and Lord Byron an acolyte and admirer. When her marriage to Earl Cowper soured, she took a string of lovers, eventually taming a the promising, promiscuous Lord Palmerston.

Emily's life resembled real life Bridgerton - she even inspired the character Cressida Cowper. But her petticoats and parties belied a steely determination. Yearning for power beyond the ballroom, she used her political genius to engineer the premierships of her brother, Lord Melbourne, and her lover, Lord Palmerston. Once in Downing Street, she acted as chief counsel, speechwriter, press officer and tireless schemer for the Whig cause - from women's rights to the eradication of slavery. By proxy she became one of the most powerful people in England and changed the course of history. But her story has never been told - until now.

Written with novelistic richness and extraordinary detail drawn from thousands of intimate letters and journals. The Countess unveils the life of this exceptional woman and offers a new insight into the time in which she lived.

Genres: Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published June 25, 2026

Reviews

[Ken Sampson]

[2 Sep 2026] [Hardback] This is a niche book about a previously unknown character. Emily Lamb was born in 1787, the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth, Viscountess Melbourne and George, the Earl of Egremont. She was brought up in the Melbourne family as was her full brother, William Melbourne. Also there was Penison, Frederick and Harriet, who her mother had with her husband and George, with Prince George (Later George IV). Her children is well described and the atmosphere of the Georgian era is well created. Emily in many ways takes after her mother and is flirtatious and gregarious. She pushes the boundaries of the times and has a succession of liaisons and relationships. She marries Earl Cowper and has two children, George and Charles. She also has three children with her longterm lover Viscount Palmerston - Minny, William, Frances. Although having said this one wonders if the modern descendants have been brave enough to do a DNA test on Ancestry.com

The period is wonderfully described. The Regency, the illness of George III, the politics of the day - Whigs and Tories, the American wars, the accession of Victoria, the emergence of Prince Albert as a force, the European revolutions and wars and the development of British politics. To cut a long story short Emily was a frustrated women who would now have been a leading political figure, possibly Prime Minister. She had to content herself with being the 'power behind the throne' - she supported, guided and at times controlled policy for her brother, Lord Melbourne and later her husband Lord Palmerston. The one mistake, which was constantly repeated, was referring to George III/George VI/William IV & Victoria as 'King/Queen of England', when they were the Monarchs of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, this English centric view alienates millions of British people who are not English - Authors take note. A fascinating look at Regency and Victorian politics and the role of women in society. An easy, enjoyable and well researched read.

[Aminah]

This book feels like a novel except it’s all true. The authors bring the Countess to life and take readers on an intimate journey throughout.

[Emma]

A very surface-level biography. I don’t feel like this gave Emily any sort of personality, and barely used any of her own words, I don’t feel like it gave me any sort of insight into her life. It felt more like a surface-level history book looking at a certain period (if you’ve read any history on Lord Byron, politics in the era, or Queen Victoria you will read nothing new), focussing mainly on the male figures in her life. I forgot it was a biography of her at times. It’ll be like: this is a very basic blow-by-blow of a political situation, this is what William Lamb did, this is what Lord Palmerston did, etc etc oh and Emily was there and we promise she influenced the whole thing. It was overly positive about her as well, and because it didn’t do any sort of deep diving into her life, presented her as a saintly figure steering all the people in her life in the right direction because she just knew best!!! There was no nuance to her, despite numerous affairs being briefly skimmed over, no excitement was felt about her. She was just there.

It also did NOT trust the reader to remember who people were, for example it would describe Lord Egremont as her ‘natural father’ every time.

There were facts in it that were just not true, and a simple google search would have cleared them up. The book claims that Palmerston’s estate, Broadlands, was where Thomas Seymour grieved the death of his 16-year-old sister when she died in childbirth, and he and Catherine Parr would live there. Well that’s just not true. Thomas Seymour briefly owned the estate but not until years after Jane’s death, not at 16 but in her late 20s. There is also no evidence that Catherine Parr ever lived there. It also made the claim that St James’s Palace was built for the wedding of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves, again not true. There were other instances where I felt it needed another read through for a final edit, a few missing words or grammatical errors for example.

Overall I clearly raced through the book, so it wasn’t a difficult read, but it needed a polish and fact checking and didn’t hold up to the promise to present this interesting woman’s life as anything other than forgettable - which is a shame.

[Fiammetta]

a powerful story, a memoir about one of the most respected and impactful women of the Regency and Victorian Eras of Britain. and shoutout to the audiobook narrator Emma Gregory for making her even more human!

[Alice]

Interesting.

[Mairead]

Fascinating

[Zeynepozmen33gmail.Com]

Very good

[Kirsty]

Fabulous.

[Stacey Tanton]

Best history book I’ve read in ages! What a woman!