Synopsis
'A triumph' -- David Knyaston
'Lively and informative' -- Miranda Seymour
'Essential reading' -- Elizabeth Norton
'Excellent and inciteful' -- Rory Muir
The spellbinding true story of Emily Cowper, Regency socialite turned Victorian powerbroker
Emily, Countess Cowper was stubborn, beautiful and intensely ambitious. She took Regency society by storm, captivating famous statesmen and the young Queen Victoria.
Born the Hon. Emily Lamb, she was brought up at the centre of glamorous Regency high society with its duels and dissipation. Her godmother was the infamous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and Lord Byron an acolyte and admirer. When her marriage to Earl Cowper soured, she took a string of lovers, eventually taming a rake: the promising, promiscuous Lord Palmerston.
Emily's life resembled real life Bridgerton - she even inspired the character Cressida Cowper. But her petticoats and parties belied a steely determination. Yearning for power beyond the ballroom, she used her political genius to engineer the premierships of her brother, Lord Melbourne, and her lover, Lord Palmerston. Once in Downing Street, she acted as chief counsel, speechwriter, press officer and tireless schemer for the Whig cause - from women's rights to the eradication of slavery. By proxy she became one of the most powerful people in England and changed the course of history. But her story has never been told - until now.
Written with novelistic richness and extraordinary detail drawn from thousands of intimate letters and journals. The Countess unveils the life of this exceptional woman and offers a new insight into the time in which she lived.
'Lively and informative' -- Miranda Seymour
'Essential reading' -- Elizabeth Norton
'Excellent and inciteful' -- Rory Muir
The spellbinding true story of Emily Cowper, Regency socialite turned Victorian powerbroker
Emily, Countess Cowper was stubborn, beautiful and intensely ambitious. She took Regency society by storm, captivating famous statesmen and the young Queen Victoria.
Born the Hon. Emily Lamb, she was brought up at the centre of glamorous Regency high society with its duels and dissipation. Her godmother was the infamous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and Lord Byron an acolyte and admirer. When her marriage to Earl Cowper soured, she took a string of lovers, eventually taming a rake: the promising, promiscuous Lord Palmerston.
Emily's life resembled real life Bridgerton - she even inspired the character Cressida Cowper. But her petticoats and parties belied a steely determination. Yearning for power beyond the ballroom, she used her political genius to engineer the premierships of her brother, Lord Melbourne, and her lover, Lord Palmerston. Once in Downing Street, she acted as chief counsel, speechwriter, press officer and tireless schemer for the Whig cause - from women's rights to the eradication of slavery. By proxy she became one of the most powerful people in England and changed the course of history. But her story has never been told - until now.
Written with novelistic richness and extraordinary detail drawn from thousands of intimate letters and journals. The Countess unveils the life of this exceptional woman and offers a new insight into the time in which she lived.
Details
25 June 2026
9781804183717Imprint: Ithaka
Reviews
A triumph: not only a richly sympathetic portrait of a fascinating aristocratic woman, but also a revealing window into a whole scandal-riven world in which the political and the personal were inextricably entwined. Meticulously researched, unfailingly humane in its judgements, and sprinkled throughout with lovely touches of humour and colour, The Countess is in its range of characters and drama a wonderfully compelling read
A lively and informative book about Emily Cowper, whose interesting life certainly justifies a biography
With a political career spanning sixty years, Emily Cowper helped to shape the nineteenth century. In The Countess Jehanne Wake and Katie Wake bring this important woman to life, shining a light on the political agency achieved by some women in an age where they had few legal rights. Vividly and clearly told, this is essential reading, illuminating not just the life of this powerful figure, but also a career that was almost unprecedented.
Jehanne and Katie Wake illuminate British high society from the Regency to the middle decades of Victoria's reign in this excellent and insightful biography of one its brightest stars, Emily Cowper. The story of her life - forgotten for far too long - is vividly and entertainingly told
