Mrs Keppel: Mistress to the King

by Tom Quinn

Overview

For Alice Keppel, it was all about appearances. Her precepts were those of the English upper classes: discretion, manners and charm. Nothing else mattered - especially when it came to her infamous affair with King Edward VII.

As the King's favourite mistress up until his death in 1910, Alice held significant influence at court and over Edward himself. But it wasn't just Edward she courted: throughout her life, Alice enthusiastically embarked on affairs with bankers, MPs, peers - anybody who could elevate her standing and pay the right price. She was a shrewd courtesan, and her charisma and voracity ensured her both power and money, combined as they were with an aptitude for manipulation.

Drawing on a range of sources, including salacious first-hand eyewitness accounts, bestselling author Tom Quinn paints an extraordinary picture of the Edwardian aristocracy, and traces the lives of royal mistresses down to Alice's great-granddaughter, the current Duchess of Cornwall. Both intriguing and astonishing, this is an unadulterated glimpse into a hidden world of scandal, decadence and debauchery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785901539
Publisher:	Biteback Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	09/20/2016
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	300
Sales rank:	776,939
File size:	379 KB

About the Author

Tom Quinn is the author of Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant; Cocoa at Midnight: The True Story of My Life as a Housekeeper; The Cook’s Tale: Life below Stairs as It Really Was and many more titles. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Prelude: Then and Now ix

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1 Alice -'Not Quite Top Drawer' 1

Chapter 2 George - The Man Who Wasn't There 15

Chapter 3 Marriage & grave;e 23

Chapter 4 Bad Boy Bertie 41

Chapter 5 Ugly and Frog-like 47

Chapter 6 A Rake's Progress 65

Chapter 7 Stormlouds 89

Chapter 8 Secrets and Lies 95

Chapter 9 La Favourite 111

Chapter 10 King at Last 127

Chapter 11 Goodbye, Bertie 169

Chapter 12 Beginning Again 187

Chapter 13 Love Among the Ruins 209

Chapter 14 Among the Exiles 229

Acknowledgements 245