The life-story of Lady Lucy Houston DBE must surely be one of the most romantic and dramatic epics of the last one hundred and fifty years, yet nowadays she is a woman unknown. She was a renowned beauty with a sharp intelligence, and over the years she would exploit her charismatic charm, first as a teenager to entice a wealthy lover, and subsequently to lead three husbands to the altar.

She was an ardent and productive campaigner for women s rights, conducting outstanding works of charity during the Great War, such as providing a convalescent home for nurses returning from the front...