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text 2014-12-31 21:48
Reading in Progress: Amphibious Thing: The Life of Lord Hervey by Lucy Moore
Amphibious Thing: The Life of Lord Hervey - Lucy Moore
The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace - Lucy Worsley

I'm doing it again - starting multiple books because I can't resist reading a bit here and there. In general I try to only do this with history books in very different time periods or it can get a tad confusing.

 

Happily I have Lucy Worsley's The Courtiers to blame/praise for this book choice. (I love having the excuse "but I had to buy this book!") She introduced me to the courtier John, Lord Hervey (or 2nd Baron Hervey) and the woman he married, Mary Lapell (later Mary Hervey or Lady Hervey). In Worsley's book the couple makes a secret love match - two clever, good looking people, sought after by others but choosing each other. But like some husbands of the time Hervey tired of Lapell, was unfaithful and treated her badly. Unlike most husbands he was quite open about his relationships with other men, especially the one whom he considered the love of his life.

 

Hervey was always known for his biting wit - and we all know from our history (and from people in general) that that type of person makes plenty of enemies. As fun as it is to read their snark you also have an idea that this type of person is not easy to be friends with - or live with, or be related to, etc. I immediately thought of Dorothy Parker, for instance. (Long review of the Marion Meade bio for quick reference.)

 

I really wanted to read about Mary Lapell first, but thanks to Worsley's citation of this book, I decided to start with Hervey's bio for the story of his and Lapell's relationship. (What I really want is to read more from his letters and memoirs, to see if they're really as good as the bits and pieces I've read.) The key to giving in and buying the book was reading Moore's introduction. Here's a chunk of the introduction that sums things up, and gives you specifics of what I mean by "treating his wife badly."

 

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