{"title":"Books by Lisa Hilton","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781405953320","title":"The Scandal of the Century","description":"This is \u003ci\u003eThe Scandal of the Century\u003c\/i\u003e, the true story of the author Aphra Behn, who used a shocking love affair to create the first English novel . . .\u003cp\u003e'Gloriously mind-boggling . . .This is a lively book, full of saucy millennial-type analogies' Spectator\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e–\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon, 1682. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Lady Henrietta Berkeley elopes with her sister’s husband, her subsequent capture and the lawsuit that follows tears through Restoration England as the scandal of the century. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut it also proves inspiration to one Aphra Behn – already condemned as a scarlet woman of loose morals – who pens a searing and outrageous bestseller based on Henrietta’s shocking affair. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story of how and why Henrietta acted as she did, and how and why Behn came to write it becomes, in Lisa Hilton’s hands, a stunning portrait of two women attempting to smash the shackles enslaving their sex.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e–\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eTHE SCANDAL OF THE CENTURY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A landmark book, a sweeping, scintillatingly original, exciting and game changing exploration of writer, spy, power player, lover Aphra Behn. Thrilling, scholarly, powerfully researched, this is Aphra as she’s never been seen before' Kate Williams, historian and author of Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The Scandal of the Century allows Hilton to showcase her skill for both historical and detective work and compelling, evocative writing . . . compelling to read [and] refreshingly transparent . . . Her fresh ideas could open up exciting paths for future scholars’ BBC History Magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An enjoyable read . . . challenging - but always entertaining' Literary Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Engaging, ingenious, lively . . . Hilton skilfully narrates background material of the Restoration' TLS\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685987885429,"sku":"9781405953344","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":43605519270066,"sku":"9781405953320","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781405953344_b984d290-db4c-4e7a-8eee-968657fa51f2.jpg?v=1792599274"},{"product_id":"9780753826119","title":"Queens Consort","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEngland from the perspective of its consort queens - a distaff history of the nation from 1066 to 1503.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEngland's medieval queens were elemental in shaping the history of the nation. In an age where all politics were family politics, dynastic marriages placed English queens at the very centre of power - the king's bed. From Matilda of Flanders, the Conqueror's queen, to Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor consort, England's queens fashioned the nature of monarchy and influenced the direction of the state. Occupying a unique position in the mercurial, often violent world of medieval state-craft, English queens had to negotiate a role that combined tremendous influence with terrifying vulnerability.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLisa Hilton's meticulously researched new book explores the lives of the twenty women who were crowned queen between 1066 and 1503, reconsidering the fictions surrounding well-known figures like Eleanor of Aquitaine and illuminating the lives of forgotten figures such as Adeliza of Louvain. War, adultery, witchcraft, child abuse, murder - and occassionally even love - formed English queenship, but so too did patronage, learning and fashion. Lisa Hilton considers the evolution of the queenly office alongside intimate portraits of the individual women, dispelling the myth that medieval brides were no more than diplomatic pawns.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298122346869,"sku":"9780753826119","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753826119_6b75864f-4b91-437b-af01-7852e1a81214.jpg?v=1786015783"},{"product_id":"9780008389604","title":"Sex and the City of Ladies","description":"The bestselling author and historian Lisa Hilton picks up the mythical ‘City of Ladies’ where the medieval writer Christine de Pisan left off, continuing a conversation about gender and greatness that began more than six hundred years ago. In 1405 Christine de Pisan took up the pen to defend her maligned sex. Her book, The City of Ladies, was built around preserving women's reputations from the slights and misunderstandings of history. In it the author is visited by three spirits – Justice, Rectitude and Reason – who guide her in sifting through countless lives, in search of worthy citizens.Over 600 years later, the historian and novelist Lisa Hilton picks up the book and promptly falls asleep, only to be visited by three great women from history: Cleopatra, Lucrezia Borgia and Catherine the Great. And they aren’t happy. Having found themselves barred from the original ‘City of Ladies’, they want to know why. And isn’t it time, they ask, for a new author to take up the pen?What follows is a reassessment of the past, in which deeds and reputations, rumours and reality are held up to the light, and history is wrested back from the distortions of misogyny.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311510860149,"sku":"9780008389604","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008389604_93005066-4f84-490f-bdde-3f7b66b5c6bb.jpg?v=1785658966"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-lisa-hilton.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}