The World’s Oldest Obsession

All of you English history buffs have heard about the “Two Princes in the Tower” but many people don’t know about their mother, the beautiful Elizabeth Woodville. Like Katherine of Valois, Elizabeth Woodville is a footnote in the history books, but she had a significant impact on English history. And for all of you pop-culture fans, she was also King Henry VIII’s grandmother.

Elizabeth was born in 1437 in Northamptonshire and grew up to be called “the most beautiful woman in the Island of Britain”. For the sake of brevity, I am going to fast forward to when she was married to Edward IV, the King of England, in 1464.  Edward IV was known to be a womanizer but that didn’t faze Elizabeth; She loved him. Elizabeth also loved being the Queen of England. The War of the Roses was tearing up England, but life was good for Elizabeth. She had 10 surviving children with Edward, including 3 sons. Since she produced an heir to the throne, she became secure at court, or so she thought. Edward IV died in 1484 and their 12-year-old son, Edward V became King. His father’s brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was entrusted with the role of Protector to Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York.  But for some strange reason, Richard ( the Uncle) intercepted Edward and his brother  Richard on their return journey from Wales and escorted them to the Tower of London for “their safety”. Then Richard ( the Uncle) breaks the news to Elizabeth that King Edward IV married another woman before her named Lady Eleanor Butler. Since Lady Butler was alive when the King married Elizabeth, her marriage become null and her children became illegitimate. Elizabeth was devastated. She was heartbroken over Ms. Butler and even more devastated that her children became illegitimate. Less than three months later, Richard (the Uncle) took the throne himself. On top of that, she never saw her two sons again; Her sons became the famous “Princes in the Tower”. After the two boys went into the Tower of London, they were never seen in public again. What happened to them is one of the great mysteries of history but it is safe to say that Uncle Richard had something to do with their disappearance. This sounds like a new Angelina Jolie film, but this is all true.

Soon enough, Elizabeth Woodville got her revenge AND her seat in court when her daughter, Elizabeth of York, grew up to marry King Henry VII. 

My sincerest apologies for taking such a long hiatus. Thank you to all of my fans for your great emails and notes asking about the next post. I have been so busy traveling and working that I haven’t had a chance to post anything. My recent break in writing had me thinking about all of the famous royals who dedicated so much of their time to the arts, especially writing. It takes so much time and dedication to write a story and believe it or not, some royals were excellent storytellers. Especially, Georgiana Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire. I know I write about her a lot, but she was a remarkable woman and the movie did not do her justice! She was also an incredible writer and wrote successful plays, poems and books.

Georgiana seemed to have it all however, she disguised her hideous and demeaning private life. Within a few short months of her marriage to the Duke, she became a heavy drinker, drug-taker, and a gambling addict. By the time she realized what had happened to her it was too late. ‘When I first came into the world the novelty of the scene made me like everything,’ she wrote in 1778. “But my heart now feels an emptiness in the beau monde which cannot be filled…nobody can think how much I am tired sometimes which the dissipation I live in.” Feeling trapped by the world she became a part of, Georgiana chose to write about her situation anonymously. The result was a book in 1778 called, The Sylph, by ‘A Young Lady’, a tell-all about high society in general, and the Devonshire House Circle in particular.

The novel was a great success. Part of its allure was the mystery behind the author’s identity. At first, people believed that Fanny Burney was the author, and Burney’s publisher tried to hint as much in order to increase his sales. But soon Georgiana’s friends recognized some of their more intimate details in the book, and the secret was out. Plus, Georgiana didn’t really disguise some names in her book.

The Sylph shocked readers because it portrayed the aristocracy as a collection of drunks, blackmailers, wife beaters and adulterers. Written in a series of letters, the story follows the misadventures of the young and beautiful Julia Stanley, a naïve country girl who has married the cruel and reckless Sir William. Having only known her husband for a short while, Julia discovers too late that Sir William is a terrible man whose only interests are fashion and gambling. But she tries to keep his affections by learning the ways of the Ton (the circle that Georgiana was a part of). At first she is shy and timid, but slowly she becomes adept at living a la mode: she can talk, sing, dance, dress and think like a fashionable person. But during the process she realizes that her soul is being corrupted by the cynicism and heartlessness of her new friends and family.

The heart of the novel is Julia’s struggle to remain true to herself while those around her either submit or are beaten down into embracing an immoral life. The Sylph is a unique, insider’s glimpse of eighteenth-century High Society. Georgiana describes a competitive, vicious world where opportunists, liars and bullies flourish. It is a world that rewards vice and values hypocrisy; where women have few rights and must defend themselves in any way they can. The irony is that even as Georgiana was protesting against this world, she was also its creature. However, with the publication of The Sylph, she had made her first step towards independence. Her own career as the Leader of the Ton would be vastly different from her heroine’s but, after suffering disgrace and exile, Georgiana would eventually emerge as the most successful female politician of her era. What also makes this novel so compelling is that it predates Jane Austen’s masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, by three decades.

Now, if Georgiana could pull of a secret, tell-all novel, can you imagine what her Twitter page would have looked like.