THE UNRULY QUEEN - The Life of Queen Caroline.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2.] NFINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip - absence of publisher's price.These edns are generally believed to be Export edns which precede the domestic trade issue in its country of origin.Bright,crisp,clean,matt,colour pictorial,subject's portrait painting detail by Maria Cosway,illustrated front panel of dw/dj with black lettering,miniaturised colour detail from front's painting illustration to spine/backstrip and lower half of spine with capitalised white-lettered part-title to black background,black-lettered author name above the painting detail,and red+white publisher's colophon to foot of spine, rear panel of dw/dj with its top third a colour pictorial painting detail from 'Grand Entrance to Bamboozl'em' by Theodore Lane,the remaining 2/3rds a black background with 2 critics' white-lettered reviews to same; with negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges whilst not bright are clean with merest hint of toning but are without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,would appear unread,other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt lettered spine/ backstrip,a b/w striped headband,and immaculate repeated grey+ white regional map with an inset of London map+Key,circa 1815, illustrated endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,viii-xxipp+2-537pp [paginated] includes separate contents+illustration lists/tables, separate Family Trees of King George IV and Queen Caroline, author's Preface,A Prologue,19 chapters,8pp historically contemporary b/w portrait illustration reproductions in 1 block, between pp170/71 and 8pp facsimile historically contemporary colour illustration reproductions and colour paintings,in 1 block between pp363/63 respectively,References,Sources and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages and a dedication. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional, and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age.It really is an exceptional acceptable copy for its cleanliness and brightness. At the tawdry,extravagant heart of England's Regency period - 1811 to 1820 - the bitter mismatch between the Prince and Princess of Wales.When the Prince Regent (later King George IV) separated privately from Princess Caroline in 1796,they had been together for less than a year.Their disastrous (and probably bigamous) marriage - mercilessly ridiculed by the satirists and caricaturists of the day - had profound political consequences and eventually led to the greatest scandal in British royal history: the trial of Queen Caroline for adultery. Caroline of Brunswick was a curious mixture of gravity and exuberance,wit and vulgarity,whose impact on society and public opinion was enormous.Barred from the Regent's court,she travelled through Europe with a small court of her own,her outrageous behaviour caused the flight of her English ladies-in-waiting and chamberlains and she embarked on building an extravagant palace at Lake Como to rival the Prince of Wales's excesses at Brighton. The tragic death of her daughter in childbirth found her still abroad but harassment from government spies and the death of George II persuaded her to return to England to take her place as Queen.At her divorce trial,the dignity and honour of the British Crown were in shreds,and Britain apparently on the brink of revolution.A mother denied access to her child,who wandered the Continent in an effort to escape her husband's persecution,a queen excluded from her own coronation,Caroline won the hearts of the British people. Queen Carolin'e story is one of a long courageous fight by an extraordinary individual to see justice done to her in the face of an overweening amd powerful authority.This detailed and refreshing look at her life by an acclaimed historian and biographer is long overdue. Please contact seller, because of the weight/value of this item, for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.