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Jane Digby's Diary: White Lady
"As the depth of truth of one's life can only be penned upon the pages of a diary, Jane Digby leads us through her passionate life . . . A wonderful piece of historical fiction that will delight your senses as well as your heart." - Peggy Lee Sprague, Author of The Truth Hunters series
And now the conclusion of Jane Digby's Diary . . .
Bright, bold, and beautiful, Jane Digby led a remarkable life. Born to privilege in 1807 at Dorset, England, she soon scandalized Europe with her reckless pursuit of freedom. Kings, princes, barons, brigands, lords, and sheikhs were among her lovers. A gifted artist and musician, as well as a superb horsewoman, she spoke several languages, read widely, and embraced all manner of culture and travel.
An amusing, thoughtful, and moving work of historical fiction, Jane Digby's Diary offers a compelling account of a woman who truly lived all for love. In White Lady, Jane has followed the eastern star and found a home and love in a strange land. Age may have granted her wisdom and regard, though she is still a fool in matters of the heart. Will her new love stand the test of time? Will her new home survive the violence of the tumultuous time in which she lives? There is only one way to find out - join her on her path to a life well lived.
White Lady is the fourth and final installment of the series, Jane Digby's Diary. The complete four-part series is now available in the Kindle store.
"Told in fictional diary form, this story based on the real life of a free-thinking, passionate woman who scandalized high-born society with her escapades is beautifully written and swept me into her world . . . An unexpected treat." - Kristy Dark
And now the conclusion of Jane Digby's Diary . . .
Bright, bold, and beautiful, Jane Digby led a remarkable life. Born to privilege in 1807 at Dorset, England, she soon scandalized Europe with her reckless pursuit of freedom. Kings, princes, barons, brigands, lords, and sheikhs were among her lovers. A gifted artist and musician, as well as a superb horsewoman, she spoke several languages, read widely, and embraced all manner of culture and travel.
An amusing, thoughtful, and moving work of historical fiction, Jane Digby's Diary offers a compelling account of a woman who truly lived all for love. In White Lady, Jane has followed the eastern star and found a home and love in a strange land. Age may have granted her wisdom and regard, though she is still a fool in matters of the heart. Will her new love stand the test of time? Will her new home survive the violence of the tumultuous time in which she lives? There is only one way to find out - join her on her path to a life well lived.
White Lady is the fourth and final installment of the series, Jane Digby's Diary. The complete four-part series is now available in the Kindle store.
"Told in fictional diary form, this story based on the real life of a free-thinking, passionate woman who scandalized high-born society with her escapades is beautifully written and swept me into her world . . . An unexpected treat." - Kristy Dark
235 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 23, 2021
4 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
C.R. Hurst
11 books20 followersC.R. Hurst, who taught writing and language at a small college in Pennsylvania for over 25 years, retired early and moved to the North Carolina mountains where she lives with her husband and a little black cat named Molly. CR loves the outdoors, reads too much and writes too little. A realist with two feet planted in the 21st century, she nevertheless enjoys escaping into the past with historical fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 11, 2025
This story is told in four volumes and the review covers all of them.
The real life of Jane Digby reads like a travelogue over a life of seventy plus years. From Dorset to London, then Paris to Munich and on to Greece and finally into the deserts of Syria. Jane Digby speaks in a voice more modern than to my liking, but it did make the historical fiction easy to read and absorb.
The essence of her character—rebellious, independent and unwilling to take play second fiddle to any man—comes into full display when she discovers her first (of four) husband is continuing to keep a mistress after their marriage. When she flees home to Dorset, her mother whom she calls La Madre tells her to “grow up” and accept that standards for men are different than for women. Jane promptly jumps in bed with the first man available, a young clerk, then she has a longer affair with her first cousin. This sets the pattern of her life. She was known to be a beauty, but there must have been more to her—a charisma, a sexual attraction or magnetism that result in liaisons that would periodically disrupt her life.
The ones who suffered most were her children. The oldest child, Henry, was likely the product of the affair with her first cousin. She abandons him when she meets a Swiss diplomat, Felix. When that affair becomes known, she follows Felix to Paris. There she has a daughter and then a son who died not long after birth. While in Paris, she negotiates a sensational and very public divorce from her first husband, Lord Ellenborough. But the Swiss diplomat, Felix, still refuses to marry her. At Felix’s request, she basically gives the daughter to his sister in Vienna. Her next move is to Munich.
There she attracts the attention of King Ludwig and another aristocrat, Karl. She eventually marries Karl, bears two children during that relationship, the daughter probably was Ludwig’s. Then another dramatic, sudden and life-changing attraction to a Greek Count occurs. She leaves Karl and moves to Greece where coincidentally King Ludwig’s son is King Otto of Greece.
After a prolonged divorce negotiation with Karl, she marries Count Spyridon Theotokis in the Greek Orthodox Church. With Spyridon, she bears another child. Only this time, she suddenly feels a maternal instinct when she’d had no interest in any of her previous five children. The son, Leonidas, is her golden child and the marriage seems happy and settled. Until the young boy dies in a tragic accident. Happiness flies away, and so does the husband into the arms of another woman. What does Jane Digby do? She takes up with King Otto, the son of her lover King Ludwig. When that ends because his wife is jealous, she becomes the de facto queen to the Greek hero, Thessalian General Hatzipetros. That affair ends when she discovers his infidelity.
What does she do next? Why of course she travels east and ends up in Syria. After a short affair with a married Bedouin trader, she falls madly in love with a man twenty years her younger. Sheik Medjuel el Mezrab leaves his wife and two children to marry Jane. She converts again to be married in the Muslim faith.
She has finally found her true love, and they have a wonderful life together for about twenty years.
Jane Digby’s story proves that true life can be stranger than fiction.
The real life of Jane Digby reads like a travelogue over a life of seventy plus years. From Dorset to London, then Paris to Munich and on to Greece and finally into the deserts of Syria. Jane Digby speaks in a voice more modern than to my liking, but it did make the historical fiction easy to read and absorb.
The essence of her character—rebellious, independent and unwilling to take play second fiddle to any man—comes into full display when she discovers her first (of four) husband is continuing to keep a mistress after their marriage. When she flees home to Dorset, her mother whom she calls La Madre tells her to “grow up” and accept that standards for men are different than for women. Jane promptly jumps in bed with the first man available, a young clerk, then she has a longer affair with her first cousin. This sets the pattern of her life. She was known to be a beauty, but there must have been more to her—a charisma, a sexual attraction or magnetism that result in liaisons that would periodically disrupt her life.
The ones who suffered most were her children. The oldest child, Henry, was likely the product of the affair with her first cousin. She abandons him when she meets a Swiss diplomat, Felix. When that affair becomes known, she follows Felix to Paris. There she has a daughter and then a son who died not long after birth. While in Paris, she negotiates a sensational and very public divorce from her first husband, Lord Ellenborough. But the Swiss diplomat, Felix, still refuses to marry her. At Felix’s request, she basically gives the daughter to his sister in Vienna. Her next move is to Munich.
There she attracts the attention of King Ludwig and another aristocrat, Karl. She eventually marries Karl, bears two children during that relationship, the daughter probably was Ludwig’s. Then another dramatic, sudden and life-changing attraction to a Greek Count occurs. She leaves Karl and moves to Greece where coincidentally King Ludwig’s son is King Otto of Greece.
After a prolonged divorce negotiation with Karl, she marries Count Spyridon Theotokis in the Greek Orthodox Church. With Spyridon, she bears another child. Only this time, she suddenly feels a maternal instinct when she’d had no interest in any of her previous five children. The son, Leonidas, is her golden child and the marriage seems happy and settled. Until the young boy dies in a tragic accident. Happiness flies away, and so does the husband into the arms of another woman. What does Jane Digby do? She takes up with King Otto, the son of her lover King Ludwig. When that ends because his wife is jealous, she becomes the de facto queen to the Greek hero, Thessalian General Hatzipetros. That affair ends when she discovers his infidelity.
What does she do next? Why of course she travels east and ends up in Syria. After a short affair with a married Bedouin trader, she falls madly in love with a man twenty years her younger. Sheik Medjuel el Mezrab leaves his wife and two children to marry Jane. She converts again to be married in the Muslim faith.
She has finally found her true love, and they have a wonderful life together for about twenty years.
Jane Digby’s story proves that true life can be stranger than fiction.
May 18, 2021
A fascinating book about a fascinating woman.
Jane Digby was a woman ahead of her time. Born into a well-connected family in England in the early 1800's, she refused to follow the usual path for a sheltered female at that time. Instead she followed her heart and (in doing so) because a legend. She married (for love) a titled Englishman, bore him a son (who died in childhood) and left him when he was unfaithful to her. She ran away with a titled Frenchman, bore him a daughter (who was taken away from her) and was deserted by him when his family refused to accept him marrying a divorced woman.
Then she tried her luck in Germany, had an affair with the German king, married a German nobleman and had a son and daughter with him. She abandoned them all when she fell in love with a handsome Greek. Her marriage to the Greek gentleman produced a beloved son, who died in a tragic accident. The marriage imploded after betrayals on both sides, including her affair with the King of Greece. After an affair with a Greek highwayman, she left Greece. Whew!
Divorced for the third time and now forty years old, she traveled to the Middle East, where she fell in love - with the desert and with a handsome Bedouin sheikh twenty years younger than she. This book is about their long and mostly happy marriage.
Why did the Bedouins accept her so readily? Was it because she was the chosen one of their popular leader or because they themselves lived apart from the rest of the Arab world and were therefore willing to accept one who showed them respect? The cover shows Jane in Arab dress and she traveled yearly with her husband as he traded camels and fine horses and led tourist expeditions to Petra and other popular sites.
But she also had a beautiful home in Damascus and wore the latest in European fashions. Westerners visiting her were surprised to discover that she and her husband were quite "civilized" by any standards. One of the themes of the book is what we now call "Euro-centracism" - the belief that western civilization is superior to all others.
I believe that western civilization affords more opportunity to a wider number of people than any other, but does everyone WANT unlimited opportunity? Is part of the chronic unhappiness of modern Americans that our unlimited opportunities leave us unable to pick a path and stick to it? Are people happier if they know their role in society and can follow it without feeling like they need to be doing something else?
Jane's fourth marriage was successful, while many marriages between western woman and Middle Eastern men end in tears. Would Jane's story have been different if she had had children with her Arab husband? Or (perhaps more importantly) if she had not been financially independent? Maybe it would have lasted under any circumstances because she truly admired her husband and his people. She never converted to Islam, but she didn't dismiss it as an inferior or false religion.
It's a beautifully written story about a very likable, relatable woman and the happiness and fulfillment she finds in the second half of her life. Impossible at this distance to say if every detail is an accurate depiction of the real woman, but can we know that about anyone? All I know is that I couldn't put it down. I read all three of the earlier installments as they appeared, but this one is definitely my favorite. I envy those of you who are new to this series and who can read it all at once. When I was younger, I read a lot of historical fiction and I think this ranks with the best.
Jane Digby was a woman ahead of her time. Born into a well-connected family in England in the early 1800's, she refused to follow the usual path for a sheltered female at that time. Instead she followed her heart and (in doing so) because a legend. She married (for love) a titled Englishman, bore him a son (who died in childhood) and left him when he was unfaithful to her. She ran away with a titled Frenchman, bore him a daughter (who was taken away from her) and was deserted by him when his family refused to accept him marrying a divorced woman.
Then she tried her luck in Germany, had an affair with the German king, married a German nobleman and had a son and daughter with him. She abandoned them all when she fell in love with a handsome Greek. Her marriage to the Greek gentleman produced a beloved son, who died in a tragic accident. The marriage imploded after betrayals on both sides, including her affair with the King of Greece. After an affair with a Greek highwayman, she left Greece. Whew!
Divorced for the third time and now forty years old, she traveled to the Middle East, where she fell in love - with the desert and with a handsome Bedouin sheikh twenty years younger than she. This book is about their long and mostly happy marriage.
Why did the Bedouins accept her so readily? Was it because she was the chosen one of their popular leader or because they themselves lived apart from the rest of the Arab world and were therefore willing to accept one who showed them respect? The cover shows Jane in Arab dress and she traveled yearly with her husband as he traded camels and fine horses and led tourist expeditions to Petra and other popular sites.
But she also had a beautiful home in Damascus and wore the latest in European fashions. Westerners visiting her were surprised to discover that she and her husband were quite "civilized" by any standards. One of the themes of the book is what we now call "Euro-centracism" - the belief that western civilization is superior to all others.
I believe that western civilization affords more opportunity to a wider number of people than any other, but does everyone WANT unlimited opportunity? Is part of the chronic unhappiness of modern Americans that our unlimited opportunities leave us unable to pick a path and stick to it? Are people happier if they know their role in society and can follow it without feeling like they need to be doing something else?
Jane's fourth marriage was successful, while many marriages between western woman and Middle Eastern men end in tears. Would Jane's story have been different if she had had children with her Arab husband? Or (perhaps more importantly) if she had not been financially independent? Maybe it would have lasted under any circumstances because she truly admired her husband and his people. She never converted to Islam, but she didn't dismiss it as an inferior or false religion.
It's a beautifully written story about a very likable, relatable woman and the happiness and fulfillment she finds in the second half of her life. Impossible at this distance to say if every detail is an accurate depiction of the real woman, but can we know that about anyone? All I know is that I couldn't put it down. I read all three of the earlier installments as they appeared, but this one is definitely my favorite. I envy those of you who are new to this series and who can read it all at once. When I was younger, I read a lot of historical fiction and I think this ranks with the best.
July 12, 2024
A remarkable accounting of a remarkable life.
I just finished the 4th and last book of C.R. Hurst's novels about the life and loves and exploits of Jane Digby. What an interesting and fascinating woman she was. Ms. Hurst has proven to be an expert "translator" of Jane's nearly unbelievable life. As she had hoped, I believe she has made a real and fair accounting of Jane's amazing life journey. Very readable and continuously intriguing, I most heartily reccommend these 4 works to all who relish a life of individual travel and wonder.
I just finished the 4th and last book of C.R. Hurst's novels about the life and loves and exploits of Jane Digby. What an interesting and fascinating woman she was. Ms. Hurst has proven to be an expert "translator" of Jane's nearly unbelievable life. As she had hoped, I believe she has made a real and fair accounting of Jane's amazing life journey. Very readable and continuously intriguing, I most heartily reccommend these 4 works to all who relish a life of individual travel and wonder.
May 24, 2022
Jane Digby’s Diary: White Lady by CR Hurst is a first-person account of a woman in 1800’s who was a scandal because of her independence and refusal to accept social norms of that day. This is the last installment of the series. It tells of her finally finding true love with a Bedouin Sheik. They establish a home in Damascus with an alternate location of the oasis where his nomads summered, Tadmor, in the Syrian Desert. She reveals her thoughts on adapting to another culture and reports on the politics around Damascus.
I found her first-person point of view entertaining as she explained the cultural differences and alluded to her history. I imagine that the other volumes are entertaining as well. I give this five stars because it did stand alone on its merits.
I found her first-person point of view entertaining as she explained the cultural differences and alluded to her history. I imagine that the other volumes are entertaining as well. I give this five stars because it did stand alone on its merits.
November 1, 2021
Awesome journal read
This is written in the form of a journal, which is unique, and hard to do. The author is very talented and well-searched. I’d recommend this to any read who likes books that take you to another world, and introduce you to techniques you’ve never read before. I recommend!
This is written in the form of a journal, which is unique, and hard to do. The author is very talented and well-searched. I’d recommend this to any read who likes books that take you to another world, and introduce you to techniques you’ve never read before. I recommend!
September 13, 2022
And now I know!
I had never heard of Jane Digby. A woman who obviously didn't let the world dictate how to live or love. This is supposedly her life's last diary as English woman who married a Bedouin sheikh. The book cover gives such a beautiful feel to the book... So cool to know it is a painting of the real Jane Digby.
I had never heard of Jane Digby. A woman who obviously didn't let the world dictate how to live or love. This is supposedly her life's last diary as English woman who married a Bedouin sheikh. The book cover gives such a beautiful feel to the book... So cool to know it is a painting of the real Jane Digby.
June 23, 2021
A lady ahead of her time
Although born into a privileged family, as a Woman during her time she accomplished a lot and had many lovers which society would have frowned on for most Women. Jane would totally fit in the 21st century dynamic of finding freedom with ease.
Although born into a privileged family, as a Woman during her time she accomplished a lot and had many lovers which society would have frowned on for most Women. Jane would totally fit in the 21st century dynamic of finding freedom with ease.
August 12, 2021
Middle Eastern Out Of Africa
Told in diary format, this story of Lady Jane is a sumptuous tale told from Lady Jane's perspective. Steamy, sensual, and gorgeously laid out, I was engaged from start to finish. You will be too.
Told in diary format, this story of Lady Jane is a sumptuous tale told from Lady Jane's perspective. Steamy, sensual, and gorgeously laid out, I was engaged from start to finish. You will be too.
February 21, 2023
True story
Based on a true story, its diary format creates an intimate look at Jane Digby's life in the Middle East. In White Lady, as in previous installments, she mets more colorful characters based upon historical figures and faces continued tribulations
Based on a true story, its diary format creates an intimate look at Jane Digby's life in the Middle East. In White Lady, as in previous installments, she mets more colorful characters based upon historical figures and faces continued tribulations
July 8, 2025
Wild and interesting
These books were full and interesting. Some of the information was long and difficult to understand because I have never known the Far East. I was lost with so much information. The story is beautiful and compelling.
These books were full and interesting. Some of the information was long and difficult to understand because I have never known the Far East. I was lost with so much information. The story is beautiful and compelling.
June 30, 2021
How extraordinary!
This nook has me from start to finish. I loved the story snd the woven historical figures who populated this fascinating book.
This nook has me from start to finish. I loved the story snd the woven historical figures who populated this fascinating book.
March 5, 2024
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an indie author in search of reviews should never stoop to review her own book on Goodreads. Yet I have always been a woman to challenge conventional wisdom. I suppose that may be the reason why I was drawn to Jane Digby, the 19th century aristocrat upon whom I have based my series, Jane Digby’s Diary. Jane has been called (by my reviewers, no less):
“A rock star before there were rock stars”
“A little strange and full of herself”
“An imaginative, creative, adventurous, and courageous woman”
“A terribly unlikeable character”
“A woman hell bent on being herself in a rigid world”
“A twisted gal”
“A real savage behind the scenes”
“A strong and relatable protagonist who we come to know and love”
"After all, remember, Jane is no saint."
As you see from the list of quotes above, Jane Digby prompts strong reactions. But why? What is it about a high-born English woman from the 19th century that causes, even today, such distinct opinions concerning her character? Could it be we both love and hate her because she dared to live her life as she chose? Does she represent both our need for belonging and our need to chart our own paths? Or could she simply speak to our basic human need for both love and freedom, two needs so very often at odds in our own lives? I know I have always found such contradictions fascinating.
I hope you read the series. Perhaps you can then answer these questions for yourself.
Postscript: And apologies to another Jane, Jane Austen, whose opening line to Pride and Prejudice I purloined for this review, though I suspect she would have been pleased by its use. After all, the words of few women, or men for that matter, are remembered for over 200 years after our deaths.
Cheers, CR
“A rock star before there were rock stars”
“A little strange and full of herself”
“An imaginative, creative, adventurous, and courageous woman”
“A terribly unlikeable character”
“A woman hell bent on being herself in a rigid world”
“A twisted gal”
“A real savage behind the scenes”
“A strong and relatable protagonist who we come to know and love”
"After all, remember, Jane is no saint."
As you see from the list of quotes above, Jane Digby prompts strong reactions. But why? What is it about a high-born English woman from the 19th century that causes, even today, such distinct opinions concerning her character? Could it be we both love and hate her because she dared to live her life as she chose? Does she represent both our need for belonging and our need to chart our own paths? Or could she simply speak to our basic human need for both love and freedom, two needs so very often at odds in our own lives? I know I have always found such contradictions fascinating.
I hope you read the series. Perhaps you can then answer these questions for yourself.
Postscript: And apologies to another Jane, Jane Austen, whose opening line to Pride and Prejudice I purloined for this review, though I suspect she would have been pleased by its use. After all, the words of few women, or men for that matter, are remembered for over 200 years after our deaths.
Cheers, CR
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews