Duchess, Countess

By: Catherine Ostler

Narrated by: Catherine Ostler

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A Vogue Best Book of 2021

When the glamorous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence.

A clandestine, candlelit wedding to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a lust for diamonds and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder the trial was a sensation. However, Elizabeth refused to submit to public humiliation and retire quietly. Rather than backing gracefully out of the limelight, she embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, being welcomed by the Pope and Catherine the Great among others.

As maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth led her life in the inner circle of the Hanoverian court and her exploits delighted and scandalised the press and the people. She made headlines, and was a constant feature in penny prints and gossip columns. Writers were intrigued by her. Thackeray drew on Elizabeth as inspiration for his calculating, alluring Becky Sharp. But her behaviour, often depicted as attention-seeking and manipulative, hid a more complex tale – that of Elizabeth’s fight to overcome personal tragedy and loss.

Now, in this brilliantly told and evocative biography, Catherine Ostler takes a fresh look at Elizabeth’s story and seeks to understand and reappraise a woman who refused to be defined by society’s expectations of her. A woman who was by turns, brave, loving and generous but also reckless, greedy and insecure; a woman totally unwilling to accept the female status of underdog or to hand over all the power, the glory and the adventures of life to men.

©2021 Catherine Ostler (P)2021 Simon & Schuster UK

Critic reviews

"Outrageously scandalous, soaked in sex and money, aristocracy, adventure and grandeur.... Catherine Ostler, accomplished storyteller, is the perfect writer to restore the Duchess Countess to life." (Simon Sebag Montefiore)

"A scintillating story superbly told.... [Ostler] packs every paragraph with eye-opening detail." (Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times)

"A rollicking read...[Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable style and gusto." (Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times)

Excellent writing, grating narration

I really dislike it when publishers encourage writers to read their own work—rarely do their talents as narrators match their talents as writers.

This is a well-written and well-researched book, and I think I will enjoy reading the print version, but the author’s voice is so terrible and grating that I just can’t finish the audio version.

Ugh Bad Narration

I think this would be an interesting book but the narrator is awful, so awful. There’s another version of this book on Audible with a different cover but unfortunately the same narrator. I tried but I will be returning. Listen to the sample. She’s loud and overly dramatic, every word… dramatic. This would be a great book with the right narrator. You may be able to tolerate the narration but I gave it a good 3 hours to see if I could adjust to it and I couldn’t.

interesting history - awful narration

I was so looking forward to this book - really interesting tale. But the historians style is hyper detailed (do we really need to know every dish on every menu?) and so many people listed at all things that I felt it really hard to follow.

This wasn't helped by her delivery. Usually i really enjoy an author reading their own work - but it's not always the best choice. here her plummy accent and frequent swallows and breath intakes was very distracting. I couldn't actually finish the book - and may return it and buy the book itself - where i could skim the excess detail and not have a sloane ranger gaspily narrating.

So this is more a note to myself - with her next book, buy the book not the audio, and think carefully if you can take the tedious detail... don't fall for the reviews. This does not bring the book to life, but deaden it.

Fascinating account with some author’s oddities

Overall, the book is a fascinating and thoroughly researched account of a lesser known figure of the Georgian period, who probably deserves more recognition. Elizabeth Chudleigh was a pioneering woman who wanted more for herself than society was prepared to allow. That said, there were a few issues with the telling. Catherine the Great’s private note to herself ‘be kind’ was repeated in the audiobook version. I also question whether the author should have narrated the book herself. I did not find her voice the easiest to listen to and she seemed to stumble over the beginning of words frequently. Her pronunciation was also jarring on occasion. Thus, Rhenish became ‘Ree-nish’ instead of ‘Wren-ish’; Cartagena was ‘Carta-gee-na’ instead of ‘Carta-hay-na’
There were also several long words that the narrator stumbled over, which were unnecessary and would have made a more fluent listen had simpler alternatives been used.
I felt there was too great a tedious, repetitive emphasis on the author’s conclusion of borderline personality disorder, with little corroborating evidence. The cultural norms of the day were so different, that it seems odd and unconvincing to cling to this as a definitive diagnosis.
Otherwise though, the author’s insight into this lady’s approach to life, self-advancement and the politics of relationships were involving and convincing.

Excellent

Beautifully written, masterful storytelling and read with panache.
Loved every minute of it. Must goto the Hermitage to see the treasures again.

Amazing history book

it is an incredible story and the level of detail immersed me into the era.

excellent book. Well worth listening to.

A good listen
A fascinating life. Well portrayed
Recommended for anyone interested in late 18th century history.