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Summary
Summary
Born in Scotland in 1750, Lady Anne Barnard lived at the heart of Georgian society. She wrote one of the most popular ballads of her day, captivated Sir Walter Scott with her poetry, rubbed shoulders with the Prince of Wales, and dazzled Samuel Johnson with her repartee. Lady Anne's charisma and talent were undeniable; she was well known as both a beauty and a wit. However, she was also seen as an eccentric--an artist defined by her defiance of convention.
Lady Anne had romantic affairs with several prominent men, but she married none of them. She preferred to live independently--even traveling alone to Paris during the upheaval of the French Revolution. When she did marry, it was to an impoverished army officer many years her junior. The pairing scandalized polite society. Hounded by gossip, the couple escaped to the Cape Colony--England's first African possession--where Lady Anne painted the vibrant landscapes and penned her memoirs. An indefatigable diarist, she proved herself one of the extraordinary chroniclers of the era.
Stephen Taylor draws on Lady Anne's private papers, including six volumes of her never-before-published memoirs, to construct a vivid biography of her remarkable life. Illustrated with Lady Anne's own drawings as well as portraits by her contemporaries, Defiance offers a lively and wholly absorbing portrayal of a woman far ahead of her time.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Anne Barnard knew everybody worth knowing in late-18th-century England, turned down a literal dozen marriage proposals, and wed for love in her early 40s after having become a very wealthy woman with the help of former suitors. She lived for a time in South Africa; adopted, raised, and provided for her husband's biracial daughter; wrote a famous ballad beloved of Walter Scott; painted; and became an accomplished hostess. Her full and compelling life leaves the biographer with a puzzle: how to compress a story that could easily fill three volumes into a single book. Taylor (Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain) solves this conundrum admirably, focusing on a chronological retelling of the highlights of Barnard's life. His work is enriched by his access to private unpublished source material. Taylor doesn't fail to entertain, and his book is a fine, easily readable introduction to Barnard that does the work of leaving readers wanting more-more on navigating the difficulties of raising a biracial child in 19th-century London, more on Barnard's relationship with the Prince of Wales, more on her interiority. This is a page-turning introduction to a fascinating life. 8 color illus. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
With access to his subject's extensive unpublished memoirs, captivating biographer Taylor (Commander, 2012) re-creates the fascinating life of an eighteenth-century woman who boldly defied societal strictures and expectations, carving out an exceptional life on her own revolutionary terms. Aristocratic beauty, author of the classic Scottish ballad Auld Robin Grey, landscape artist, and inveterate diarist, Lady Anne Barnard took many lovers before eventually marrying an unsuitable, by genteel society's standards, army officer several years her junior. Fiercely independent, she entertained literary, political, and social royalty; traveled widely; observed the French Revolution firsthand; lived in and chronicled life in South Africa for five years; and scandalously adopted her husband's biracial daughter, whom she slyly referred to as my protégée of a darker complexion. This sparkling portrait of a woman unapologetically ahead of her time also constitutes a valuable contribution to the scholarship of women's studies.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2017 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Taylor (Storm and Conquest) has crafted an intricate and cozy biography of Lady Anne Barnard (1750-1825) that illustrates the strength and vivacity that lit her from within. Barnard was an accomplished Scottish woman of letters who was both of her time and beyond it. Born Lady Anne Lindsay, she had many suitors and lovers but remained single until her 40s, vacillating often in her affections. In London, Barnard's gift of social intercourse allowed her to count many of the most influential men of the times among her circle, including the Prince Regent. It was considered a scandal when she married Andrew Barnard, a young officer with no title or wealth. She accompanied him to his post in South Africa, hiked mountains, reported expertly on the state of the colony to her political friends, and, after Andrew's death, adopted a daughter he had fathered by a slave. Infused with sections from her letters and an unpublished multi-volume memoir, this work brings Lady Anne's own voice to life. VERDICT Taylor's book will appeal to biography and history lovers alike with its approachable style.-Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
Prologue | p. 1 |
Part 1 | |
1 The Black Broth | p. 9 |
2 Edinburgh's Coquette | p. 26 |
3 Auld Robin Grey | p. 40 |
4 The Great Crash | p. 55 |
5 Return to Sparta | p. 73 |
6 'Folly, Folly. But in Character!' | p. 89 |
7 'The Devil in Scarlet' | p. 105 |
Part 2 | |
8 Escape to France | p. 119 |
9 Royal Go-between | p. 141 |
10 The Weathercock | p. 157 |
11 A Captive in Paris | p. 174 |
12 'A Blackguard Lover' | p. 190 |
Part 3 | |
13 A Cape of Hope | p. 211 |
14 A While in Paradise | p. 230 |
15 Paradise Lost | p. 248 |
16 The Court of Lilliput | p. 263 |
17 Home and Away | p. 276 |
18 Alone | p. 291 |
19 A 'Protégée of a Darker Complexion' | p. 302 |
20 Legacies | p. 316 |
Epilogue | p. 335 |
Appendix | p. 343 |
Bibliography | p. 345 |
Notes | p. 349 |
Acknowledgements | p. 375 |
Index | p. 377 |