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The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce

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When four years ago Hallie Rubenhold wrote _The Covent Garden Ladies_, about a catalogue of prostitutes in eighteenth century London, she threw light on a lively and rollicking trade. Now, in _The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce_ (St. Martin's Press) she has told a story of the unraveling of one particular Georgian marriage, a tale full of gossip, media hype, legal shenanigans, and erotic naughtiness. In other words, she has a story that shows how little times have changed in two centuries, but she has also illuminated the social rules and expectations of that distant time. The public, from the aristocracy to the servants, were all fascinated with the break-up of the marriage of Sir Richard and Lady Seymour Worsley, and they laughed at its ridiculous elements, and they disparaged one partner or the other. Readers of Rubenhold's detailed and gripping book will be just as amazed and absorbed.

The match between the couple was a classic aristocratic matchmaking: she would get his title and he would get her fortune. They may have been happy initially, but Lady Seymour became interested in her own social set, including George Bisset, a neighbor and Sir Richard's friend. Bisset and Sir Richard remained friends even though Sir Richard knew of Bisset's affair with his wife; he even encouraged it. There was a visit to the baths in Maidstone when Sir Richard invited Bisset to climb upon his shoulders so that Bisset might enjoy a peep through a high window at Lady Seymour at her bath. The growing disaffection between the married couple led Bisset and Lady Seymour to elope in 1781. Sir Richard was furious, and determined that he would have the full justice due to him. This was just a matter of property; Bisset had damaged and taken the property of Sir Richard, and would have to pay. But the case was not simple; yes, Bisset had made off with his wife. There was testimony, however, from others that Lady Seymour had taken plenty of lovers, and some (like Bisset) had been welcomed by Sir Richard. What really sealed Bisset's case was that there was a servant in the baths when Bisset was peeping at Lady Seymour. Forgetting that such servant observers even existed was the privilege of the aristocrats, but Sir Richard was far from the only aristocrat who had his legal fate decided by servant testimony. After that servant had taken the stand, Sir Richard was a ruined man. The print-sellers delighted in the public clamor for cartoons showing the impotent and behorned (horns were the symbol of the cuckold) Sir Richard hoisting Bisset up for a view, and such cartoons might show also a view of Lady Seymour on display. The transcript of the trial became a bestseller, and the couple took to fighting in public, not face to face, but in print. The public loved it.

Bisset eventually left Lady Seymour, married another, and wound up with some honor. Lady Seymour removed herself to Paris, where she was entangled in the French Revolution. Upon the death of Sir Richard, she was able to marry and seems to have done so happily. Sir Richard also escaped to the continent, and pursued antiquarian studies, hoping to make his name famous in that sphere instead of infamous as a cuckold. It didn't work; he even asked for a monument in his church upon his death, and well-meaning admirers erected a sarcophagus to impart some of the gravity with which they felt he should be regarded. But the congregation sniggered because it reminded them of his adventure with a bathtub, and the sniggering went on until 1904, when the tub was dragged to the rear of the church and hidden by a pipe organ. Hallie Rubenhold has rendered a splendid sad and funny tale. As a historian, she has given a well-referenced guide to the mores and atmosphere of the times, and as a storyteller she has made a compelling and entertaining book that is hard to put down.

This is an excellent account of an eighteenth-century marriage from hell, with lots of juicy soap opera complications. If ever a story were in need of a big-screen adaptation, this is it. (Pity that Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes have already appeared in "The Duchess" since they would be the perfect couple to star in this movie!) You have a husband and a pretty young wife, and the husband encourages the wife to have an affair with the husband's friend. "What could possibly go wrong with that?" Before long, there are lots of other pressing questions: Who is the father of the ensuing baby? Who is the most indiscreet? Who is going to win in the court of law? More importantly, what are the curious gossips going to say?

This turned out to be the big social scandal of its day. Public trial. Magazine lampoons. Vicious cartoons. Salacious details exposed. Best-selling pamphlets. The author gives it all to us in a very interesting and readable book. Since I had never heard of these people, I had no idea how the various plots were going to play out, and the book held my interest to the end. It is highly recommended for those who want another example of how historical reality is usually more intriguing than fiction.

In 1782 Baronet Sir Richard Worsley sues his wife's lover Maurice George Bisset for damages to his property when his friend in debauchery eloped with his wife. Richard demands an excessive amount in punitive money for what the man did to his "property", his spouse with "criminal conversation". Forced to testify under oath though ironically the two males in her life treat her like an object and knowing she will be further ridiculed, Lady Seymour Worsley decides to ruin the reputations of her lover and her husband at the hearing.

This is a terrific historical that provides an incredible look at late eighteenth century English society as gossip and innuendos add fervor to the trial. Hallie Rubenhold explains that this case was so gripping that in spite of the American Revolutionary War still on-going, colonists like General Washington were spellbound with each new revelation and several artists including renowned portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds lampooned the participants as three fools. Feeling like it could occur today with how society wants more scandalous dirt on celebrities (Tiger Woods comes to mind), readers will rethink their notions of the Georgian aristocracy as this is a great account.

Harriet Klausner

The subject matter of the book is titillating in its essence and would make matchless entertainment in the hands of a novelist of imagination and talent. Rubenhold is a fine researcher and historian and what we get here is a history complete with extensive bibliography and index. What we do not get is anything that will bring wings to the imagination. Which is not to say that the book is unreadable. The author is successful in placing the reader within the manners, customs, politics and economics of the time. However, it is in no way a "page turner." In fact it is hard to imagine how the subject matter could be handled more dryly. One longs not for depth of detail, but of imagination and wit.