Defiance: The Life and Choices of Lady Anne Barnard

Stephen Taylor

Defiance: The Life and Choices of Lady Anne Barnard
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Faber & Faber
Country
United Kingdom
Published
28 June 2017
Pages
400
ISBN
9780571311125

Defiance: The Life and Choices of Lady Anne Barnard

Stephen Taylor

Lady Anne Barnard lived at the heart of Georgian society, yet was never fully part of it. The Prince of Wales counted among many friends and she was brilliant in company. But she was seen as an eccentric - an outsider.

What defined this poet and musician, artist and hostess, was defiance of convention. High-born yet an egalitarian, she rejected numerous suitors, lived independently by buying and renting houses and travelled alone to observe the French Revolution. When she did marry it was to a junior army officer, 12 younger than she, and together they withdrew to Africa. Her curious ways attracted gossip right to her final years when she raised a mysterious dark-skinned child at her home in Berkeley Square.

Anne Barnard’s verse was celebrated by Walter Scott but she was also a brilliant and indefatigable diarist. Stephen Taylor has been given access to her private papers, notably six volumes of memoirs which have never been published and which show her to be one of the unheralded chroniclers of her time. This daring yet sensitive woman brought insights to the Georgian age that speak to the modern reader.

This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 2 weeks

Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.