The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power, and Intrigue in an English Stately Home

This lively, accessible work from English writer Livingstone follows five mistresses of Cliveden from the time of late-17th-century Restoration-era rakes to the swinging 1960s. Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury, and Elizabeth, Countess of Orkney, were louche paramours of prominent noblemen. Augusta, Princess of Wales, was the wife of a progressive but doomed heir. Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, was a do-gooder and close friend of Queen Victoria. The last mistress, American-born Nancy Astor, became the first woman elected to Parliament. Her son presided over the estate’s most notorious modern scandal, 1963’s Profumo Affair, when Britain’s war minister shared the charms of party girl Christine Keeler with a possible Soviet spy. Cliveden flourished as a center of hedonism, culture, and politics. King George III, who aroused the ire of American colonists, spent a portion of his childhood there. Guests included Jonathan Swift, William Gladstone, and Lawrence of Arabia. Downton Abbey this is not: it traces the saga of unrelated women, not a single aristocratic family. Sutherland and Astor truly influenced history; other women of Cliveden were activists, and all chafed under the restrictions imposed on women. Packed with details about architecture, gardens, clothing, and manners, Livingstone’s debut is an entertaining, anecdotal popular history. Photos. (June)