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The Angel and the Cad
At the age of sixteen, Catherine Tylney Long became the wealthiest heiress in England, and the public found their 'angel'. Witty, wealthy and beautiful, Catherine was the most eligible of young ladies and was courted by royalty but, ignoring the warnings of her closest confidantes, she married for love. Her choice of husband was the charming but feckless dandy William Wellesley Pole, nephew of the Duke of Wellington. The pair excited the public's interest on an unprecedented scale with gossip columns reporting every detail of their magnificent home in Wanstead, where they hosted glittering royal fetes, dinners and parties. But their happiness was short-lived; just a decade later William had frittered away Catherine's inheritance and the couple were forced to flee into exile. As they travelled across Europe, they became embroiled in a series of scandals that shocked the public and culminated in a landmark court case. Meticulously researched and rich with dazzling detail, The Angel and the Cad is a tale of love and betrayal that twists and turns until the final page.
392 pages, Paperback
Published February 11, 2016
2 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Geraldine Roberts
11 books6 followersGeraldine Roberts lives in East London. In 2010, she decided to follow her life-long passion for history and attained an MA (with distinction) from Queen Mary University of London.
Selected by The Times (London) as book of the week, and BBC History as their Book of the Month, The Angel and the Cad: Love, Loss and Scandal in Regency England is the true story of a high society scandal that gripped the British public 200 years ago. Catherine Tylney Long was the richest heiress in Regency Britain - her husband was a notorious libertine. Together they exuded glamour and wealth, living like royalty at Wanstead House, while keeping the nation enthralled with the shocking twists and turns of their marriage.
For more information and updates visit www.geraldineroberts.com
Selected by The Times (London) as book of the week, and BBC History as their Book of the Month, The Angel and the Cad: Love, Loss and Scandal in Regency England is the true story of a high society scandal that gripped the British public 200 years ago. Catherine Tylney Long was the richest heiress in Regency Britain - her husband was a notorious libertine. Together they exuded glamour and wealth, living like royalty at Wanstead House, while keeping the nation enthralled with the shocking twists and turns of their marriage.
For more information and updates visit www.geraldineroberts.com
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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December 21, 2020Oof, this turned out to be a pretty rough read, given the essentially story is here “total arsehole ruins woman’s life.” While it was clearly meticulously researched, I found the prose style functional rather engaging, but the story (grim as it was) and the broader context of women’s rights in the Regency kept me turning those pages.
The basics here are that Catherine Tylney Long is a sweet-tempered, beautiful heiress. She marries—for love—an utter prick, who spends her entire fortune, literally sells her house brick by brick, takes several mistresses, one of whom is clearly, shall we say, unwell, and eventually starts using the kids a weapons to control Catherine within their marriage. Catherine, finally pushed beyond endurance, starts challenging the entire framework of Regency society in order to separate from her profoundly abusive husband.
And then, because this is real life, and real life rarely offers closure, dies.
In the plus column, William doesn’t get the children. Which was apparently massively unusual for the time.
Ouch. I mean. Just ouch.
The book, to my mind, does a really good of centralising Catherine in the narrative—as it would be very easy to make it all about the dickishness of William since he’s very often the active party. After all, Catherine was a virtuous Regency woman which meant mostly she sat at home and took care of her family—and I sincerely appreciated the way that this was never shown as a lack of spirit, understanding or conviction. Given how values have changed, thank God, I think it would have been very easy to make Catherine come across as a mouse. Rather than as the rather admirable person she was who simply lived in a different time, with different standards of behaviour.
I also liked the exploration of the role, err, celebrity played in the couples lives. It’s an intriguing perspective.
The basics here are that Catherine Tylney Long is a sweet-tempered, beautiful heiress. She marries—for love—an utter prick, who spends her entire fortune, literally sells her house brick by brick, takes several mistresses, one of whom is clearly, shall we say, unwell, and eventually starts using the kids a weapons to control Catherine within their marriage. Catherine, finally pushed beyond endurance, starts challenging the entire framework of Regency society in order to separate from her profoundly abusive husband.
And then, because this is real life, and real life rarely offers closure, dies.
In the plus column, William doesn’t get the children. Which was apparently massively unusual for the time.
Ouch. I mean. Just ouch.
The book, to my mind, does a really good of centralising Catherine in the narrative—as it would be very easy to make it all about the dickishness of William since he’s very often the active party. After all, Catherine was a virtuous Regency woman which meant mostly she sat at home and took care of her family—and I sincerely appreciated the way that this was never shown as a lack of spirit, understanding or conviction. Given how values have changed, thank God, I think it would have been very easy to make Catherine come across as a mouse. Rather than as the rather admirable person she was who simply lived in a different time, with different standards of behaviour.
I also liked the exploration of the role, err, celebrity played in the couples lives. It’s an intriguing perspective.
March 4, 2017
A brilliantly written and well researched book that shines a light on the compelling lives of a Georgian / Regency "celebrity" couple whose actions would go on to influence fashion and the law decades after they lived. Catherine, a young and very rich heiress, marries Williams - against the advice of friends and family - a man she will love all her life, even when he turns against her. William proves to be a sociopathic individual who blaims everyone else for the results of his own reckless behaviour and soon grows bored of domestic bliss with his wife. As the times dictated, Catherine can do little to nothing to stop his behaviour; he brings them into debt, he looses jobs, uses bullying and threats to get his way. Wives were meant to be obedient and passive, and Catherine wants to make the marriage work - even when she's made aware of his affairs - she doesn't want to give up on him. But when Catherine tries to curb Williams behaviour and save their families futures, his attention turns to using their children as a weapon against her, not expecting that Catherine will fight back! In a time where societal norms and even the law was fully on Williams side, Catherine aims to keep her children safe at all costs - including challenging patriachal society and the law. Unforgettable characters and a remarkably strong protofeminist in Catherine - I heartily recommend this book!
April 12, 2025
Fabulous true story of a Regency heiress Catherine Tylney, forgotten by history. She could have been Queen but instead married for love to the nephew of the Duke of Wellington who was indeed a cad!!
Highlighting the immense inequality for women, Catherine was responsible for the first ever custody trial, resulting in the father of her children losing rights due to being an unfit parent.
This book is so well written and a real page turner, full of fascinating historical facts.
It's one of those books where you feel a loss when you've read it!
Well done for bringing this story to light.
Highlighting the immense inequality for women, Catherine was responsible for the first ever custody trial, resulting in the father of her children losing rights due to being an unfit parent.
This book is so well written and a real page turner, full of fascinating historical facts.
It's one of those books where you feel a loss when you've read it!
Well done for bringing this story to light.
July 15, 2019
TOUGH READ.
I didn't actually enjoy a lot of it. Picture that girlfriend or sister who first, started dating a guy you didn't like, a guy EVERYone said was bad news - who then married him - who then stuck with him, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was cheating, lying and spending her money - whose situation finally got so bad that she ended up 'on the lam' with her children, eventually literally hounded to death by him.
Ok, probably you don't know someone like that. So imagine a beautiful, sweet, intelligent young woman of noble birth, widely courted for her own sake and that of her fortune - she's the richest woman in England, years before she's come of age. Make her marriage to a good looking rogue the toast of the town. Throw in a youthful mistress who, if not touched in the head, is - well, I think she must have been touched in the head. And finally, set the whole story in a time before women could divorce, when they and their children were basically owned by their husbands.
it's a good story, well told, but pretty painful to read. It's almost a relief when the worst happens, because right up until Catherine Tylney Long marries William Wellesley Pole, and then again, right up until she finally accepts what nearly everyone around her already knows, you're trying to somehow make the story go a different way, the way you throw a bowling ball and then lean to one side to try to change its trajectory.
The worst is pret-ty bad, compounded by a society structure that, while acknowledging how bad her situation was, in no way wanted a precedent for women being able to challenge men and win. That is exactly what makes it worth reading. If this cautionary tale doesn't render you impervious to the rakish charm of scoundrels and wicked lords, as well as at least conscious of the recalcitrance of the power structure when it comes to change - nothing will.
I didn't actually enjoy a lot of it. Picture that girlfriend or sister who first, started dating a guy you didn't like, a guy EVERYone said was bad news - who then married him - who then stuck with him, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was cheating, lying and spending her money - whose situation finally got so bad that she ended up 'on the lam' with her children, eventually literally hounded to death by him.
Ok, probably you don't know someone like that. So imagine a beautiful, sweet, intelligent young woman of noble birth, widely courted for her own sake and that of her fortune - she's the richest woman in England, years before she's come of age. Make her marriage to a good looking rogue the toast of the town. Throw in a youthful mistress who, if not touched in the head, is - well, I think she must have been touched in the head. And finally, set the whole story in a time before women could divorce, when they and their children were basically owned by their husbands.
it's a good story, well told, but pretty painful to read. It's almost a relief when the worst happens, because right up until Catherine Tylney Long marries William Wellesley Pole, and then again, right up until she finally accepts what nearly everyone around her already knows, you're trying to somehow make the story go a different way, the way you throw a bowling ball and then lean to one side to try to change its trajectory.
The worst is pret-ty bad, compounded by a society structure that, while acknowledging how bad her situation was, in no way wanted a precedent for women being able to challenge men and win. That is exactly what makes it worth reading. If this cautionary tale doesn't render you impervious to the rakish charm of scoundrels and wicked lords, as well as at least conscious of the recalcitrance of the power structure when it comes to change - nothing will.
March 29, 2021
I read this as a "historical" book for a book club challenge but also because of its link to where I live. It's the non fictional account of the marriage of Catherine Tylney Long to William Wellesley Pole who for some time resided in Wanstead House, which stood in what is now Wanstead Park, part of Britain's first public open space, managed by the Corporation of London and part of Epping Forest.
It is not a happy story but the amount of detail included by the author is impressive. Catherine was an unusual woman in that having become the wealthiest heiress in England at the time, she married for love. But she lived to regret her decision.
The book follows her life and the awful behaviour of her husband and gives a clear view of what life was like in Regency England. Women did not have rights back then but Catherine was an intelligent woman and she came to pave the way for change by successfully fighting for the custody of her children.
The narrative of the book is very matter of fact (I would imagine in audible form it would sound like a documentary) but the details and the twists and turns of Catherine's life made it very interesting and kept me engrossed. It's an impressive debut novel.
It is not a happy story but the amount of detail included by the author is impressive. Catherine was an unusual woman in that having become the wealthiest heiress in England at the time, she married for love. But she lived to regret her decision.
The book follows her life and the awful behaviour of her husband and gives a clear view of what life was like in Regency England. Women did not have rights back then but Catherine was an intelligent woman and she came to pave the way for change by successfully fighting for the custody of her children.
The narrative of the book is very matter of fact (I would imagine in audible form it would sound like a documentary) but the details and the twists and turns of Catherine's life made it very interesting and kept me engrossed. It's an impressive debut novel.
March 29, 2022
The joy of this book isn’t just that it’s a great story, but also that it’s all true and meticulously researched. It’s a fascinating period in English history when the rich families could be ridiculously extravagant and the poor went hungry.
It’s an incredible story of how men had all the power at this time. Men ruled the home and if a marital separation occurred were given custody of any children within the marriage. Men could have long term mistresses, all perfectly acceptable as long as they didn’t flaunt them in public. A rich man could damage another persons reputation and control the lives of family members. A man also took command of the finances and this story shows how one man could squander and lose a family fortune.
The book moves along at a comfortable pace and is a great read. I like that the book is so well researched (the author is a historian) and I felt I had learned so much about this period of English history.
It’s an incredible story of how men had all the power at this time. Men ruled the home and if a marital separation occurred were given custody of any children within the marriage. Men could have long term mistresses, all perfectly acceptable as long as they didn’t flaunt them in public. A rich man could damage another persons reputation and control the lives of family members. A man also took command of the finances and this story shows how one man could squander and lose a family fortune.
The book moves along at a comfortable pace and is a great read. I like that the book is so well researched (the author is a historian) and I felt I had learned so much about this period of English history.
February 5, 2017
Wonderful factual account of Wanstead House history written by a local writer.
How different the whole of London would be right now if only she had married differently !!! Wow!!!
I could not put it down! It should be made into a BBC blockbuster, bodice ripping series!
How different the whole of London would be right now if only she had married differently !!! Wow!!!
I could not put it down! It should be made into a BBC blockbuster, bodice ripping series!
October 18, 2025
A rich biography that places a pellucid lens on one of the great untold stories of the Regency age. Despite Catherine Long-Tylney’s real significance in British history, she’s largely forgotten today - a travesty this book powerfully corrects.
In her own time, Catherine was well known and immensely popular; she moved among the likes of the royals and Wellington, dominated the press as a sort of ‘Shy Di’ who blossomed into a fashion icon and later long-suffering wife, and her story helped prickle national consciousness on issues such as divorce, custody, women’s rights, domestic cruelty, and libel.
It’s a bit frustrating, then, that Catherine is somewhat decentralised in her own story, with the focus of this particular biography largely falling on her husband, William Wellesley Pole. Granted, his long, scandalous life is the stuff of novels - and so perhaps the shift is inevitable - but Catherine is no less interesting for her honorable lifestyle. I would have liked to have seen more of the story revolve on Catherine and her experiences than William’s constant philandering and general debauchery.
Nonetheless, this author’s ability to paint the story of their lives with sweeping, cinematic descriptions, combined with her eagle-eyed investigation of the original source material, makes this an “unputdownable” book. I heartily enjoyed every page and appreciated the author’s ability to connect Catherine and William’s experiences to other figures, movements, and timely questions of the period. But it is, in truth, Catherine’s sharp intelligence, courage, generous heart and savvy handling of William’s cruelties - toward herself, her family, and her children - that make this an utterly gripping read.
Definitely give ‘The Angel and the Cad’ a shot - and please, Amazon, add it to Kindle - you won’t regret it! (Though I have to admit that I have GENUINELY never disliked a historical husband more - William Wellesley Pole makes Henry VIII look like the biblical Joseph - which made finishing this book somewhat of a challenge. His behavior was genuinely enraging and Catherine should’ve wiped the floor with him).
In her own time, Catherine was well known and immensely popular; she moved among the likes of the royals and Wellington, dominated the press as a sort of ‘Shy Di’ who blossomed into a fashion icon and later long-suffering wife, and her story helped prickle national consciousness on issues such as divorce, custody, women’s rights, domestic cruelty, and libel.
It’s a bit frustrating, then, that Catherine is somewhat decentralised in her own story, with the focus of this particular biography largely falling on her husband, William Wellesley Pole. Granted, his long, scandalous life is the stuff of novels - and so perhaps the shift is inevitable - but Catherine is no less interesting for her honorable lifestyle. I would have liked to have seen more of the story revolve on Catherine and her experiences than William’s constant philandering and general debauchery.
Nonetheless, this author’s ability to paint the story of their lives with sweeping, cinematic descriptions, combined with her eagle-eyed investigation of the original source material, makes this an “unputdownable” book. I heartily enjoyed every page and appreciated the author’s ability to connect Catherine and William’s experiences to other figures, movements, and timely questions of the period. But it is, in truth, Catherine’s sharp intelligence, courage, generous heart and savvy handling of William’s cruelties - toward herself, her family, and her children - that make this an utterly gripping read.
Definitely give ‘The Angel and the Cad’ a shot - and please, Amazon, add it to Kindle - you won’t regret it! (Though I have to admit that I have GENUINELY never disliked a historical husband more - William Wellesley Pole makes Henry VIII look like the biblical Joseph - which made finishing this book somewhat of a challenge. His behavior was genuinely enraging and Catherine should’ve wiped the floor with him).
July 11, 2020
This book took a little while to pick up steam but, OH BOY, I didn't want to put it down once Catherine and William's story devolved from mildly interesting to true trainwreck. Someone smarter than me could probably make an insightful point about the irony of gawking back through the centuries at the misfortunes of people who were one of the first examples of a celebrity relationship being covered breathlessly in the tabloids, through their glories and especially through their tragedies, flattening them both into archetypes in the process. Time is a flat circle, etc. There were a few things that irritated me and knocked the rating down to four stars - some of the author's assessments of people and events I found dubious - but overall it's still a recommendation.
December 17, 2018
This was a well written incredibly interesting story based on real events. Wanstead House was partially the setting for this Georgian/Regency tale of rich titled British so called aristocrats. It could only happen and did happen in a world where women were exploited and men had all the power.And The name of Catherine Tylney Long did not go down in history as it should have then but perhaps now that a female historian has published this book it will make Catherine's name better known as the lady who was the first in Britain to challenge a father who was unfit to be a parent. Catherine's case was won and started many balls rolling in juvenile law.
May 17, 2024
even though I read a lot of regency romances, which always end happily, I know that sometimes even good people can have sad lives, and money doesn't buy happiness, and cheaters sometimes prosper.
Rakes don't often reform, and in this story a super rich heiress buys herself an incorrigibly rakish husband, finding happiness only in her friends and her children before everything comes crashing down. The groom is a nephew of the Duke of Wellington, and shares none of the iron duke's heroism. the only bright light in. the story is the heiress' victory in the courts after being extra unlucky in love.
Rakes don't often reform, and in this story a super rich heiress buys herself an incorrigibly rakish husband, finding happiness only in her friends and her children before everything comes crashing down. The groom is a nephew of the Duke of Wellington, and shares none of the iron duke's heroism. the only bright light in. the story is the heiress' victory in the courts after being extra unlucky in love.
January 14, 2019
This is an absolutely fascinating story, at times it was so far fetched and unbelievable that I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t fiction. I think the title is misleading, making it sound like a rather frivolous period drama-type tale, and it really isn’t. It’s a well researched account of an important period in history, and events that were important to subsequent generations, and such a good read!
November 24, 2022
A fantastic, gripping read. One of the best books I have read in ages. Paints an incredible picture of ‘celebrity’ life in the early 1800s. The story includes some parallels with celebrity lives today. This is a tremendously interesting read and is a highly recommended read for anyone who has ever visited Wanstead Park. With thanks to Georgina Green of Epping Forest Heritage Trust (EFHT) for her excellent guided walk in Wanstead Park and for recommending this book.
April 5, 2021
This wasn't exactly a happy read but it was one of those things that you can't look away from. William was an asshole and Catherine seemed to love him despite him being awful. I loved learning about how their relationship lead to changes in social reform.
January 8, 2017
Heartbreaking but interesting piece of history. Particularly the custody and property rights of women.
September 17, 2018
Superbly researched and written, couldn’t put it down! Why hasn’t this been made into a mini series yet?!
March 27, 2017
Wow! What a page turner! If you liked Amanda Foreman's 'Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire' , then you will really love this. There are some real jaw-dropping moments - all the more shocking as this all actually happened. Regency-era scandal at its most intriguing best. Expertly told - I heartily recommend this read!
May 3, 2017
Absolutely gripping read. The very first case in English history were children were made wards of court. Sometimes we fall in love with the wrong man, though one that could take an amazingly beautiful estate like Wanstead and have it raised to the ground for the scrap value and breaking the heart of the woman he professed his love for, well, what a despicable man!.
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