Lyndsy Spence has 2 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators. The most-rated is The Grit in the Pearl.
These Great Ladies
Summary
"Oh dear," said Evelyn Waugh of his society friends, "these great ladies." In this book of pen portraits the listener is introduced to obscure ladies who were society stars in their day. From the Churchills to the Mitfords, British and European Royals, to international playboys and film stars, these ladies knew everyone. And everyone knew them, for better or worse. Margaret, Duchess of Argyll: Famous for her naughty polaroids, and whose divorce from her Duke saw 88 men named as her lovers. Mariga Guinness: A bewitching German princess with a harrowing childhood, who fought to preserve Irish buildings and became an icon in the process. Sylvia Ashley: A girl from the wrong side of the tracks who married two lords, two Hollywood stars, and a Russian prince. Joan Wyndham: A bohemian aristocrat who shunned a debutante existence to live a life of debauchery in Chelsea. Enid Lindeman: An Australian wine heiress who married four rich and titled men, and buried them all. Venetia Montagu: A society girl who moved at the centre of HH Asquith's wartime government. Irene Curzon: A "poor little rich girl" who dared to break the rules. Jean Massereene: A dazzling viscountess whose association with Sir Edward Carson almost ruined her reputation. A true eccentric, fashion icon, and champion of the spiritualist movement.
©2017 Lyndsy Spence (P)2017 Lyndsy Spence
The Grit in the Pearl
Summary
Margaret, Duchess of Argyll (1912-1993) was an international celebrity in her youth, adored and observed by millions. But in 1963, the year of the Profumo Affair, the 11th Duke of Argyll shocked the country when he alleged that his adulterous wife had slept with over 80 men behind his back. He produced, as his evidence, a set of sexually explicit Polaroid photographs and explosive love letters. The duke won a divorce, but this had a dramatic effect on Margaret's life. On the verge of financial destitution, she fell from grace and was abandoned by most of her friends prior to her death in a nursing home in Pimlico in 1993. Lyndsy Spence tells a tragic story of the life and downfall of this fascinatingly complex woman, and shows how she fell victim to a cruel husband, harsh social mores, and an unforgiving class. It uses new sources, including taped conversations, an unexpurgated transcript of her divorce trial, interviews, and letters. The Grit in the Pearl is a meticulously researched and powerful biography, which acts as a potent lens on various themes in the last century: fame, privacy, the media, sex, power, and relationships between classes.
©2019 Lyndsy Spence (P)2019 Tantor