Wedlock

“To call the truth stranger than fiction is, in the case of Mary, Countess of Strathmore, an outrageous understatement. Wedlock is the incredible story of her transformation from one of eighteenth-century England’s richest, most free-wheeling heiresses into a piteous victim of a cruel, manipulative abuser into an improbable poster-child for modern women’s rights. This book is what all history should be: exciting, inspiring, impossible to forget. ”
—Caroline Weber, author of Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

“What a story! A beautiful, wealthy countess, accustomed to a life of cosseted privilege, is deceived by an almost impossibly dastardly scoundrel. In Wendy Moore’s skillful hands, the decadent and complex world of eighteenth century England, from the broad lawns and exquisite gardens of vast country estates to the Dickensian murk of the London courts, springs to life in all of its gorgeous detail. A darkly fascinating tale of seduction and domestic abuse.”
—Nancy Goldstone, author of Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe

“Drawing on her extensive research and sure grasp of the period, Wendy Moore has produced a gem. Her compelling account of the feisty Countess of Strathmore is a beautifully written page-turner of a book.”
—Julia Fox, author of Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford

“A gripping story, brilliantly told. The tragic history of Mary, Countess of Strathmore, is more than a cautionary tale. Mary is a true heroine: a survivor and a fighter against a brutish husband and an uncaring society. Wendy Moore succeeds admirably in describing a marriage that was forged in hell but lived on earth.”
—Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire