Louisa Stuart Costello (1799 1870) was a poet and artist who supported her family with her paintings. As well as writing a number of historical novels, Costello researched and wrote the biographies of many prominent women, using their letters and diaries to tell their extraordinary stories. This fourth volume chronicles the lives of two women; politician and courtier Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and poet and satirist Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, was the close confidante of Queen Anne, and her memoirs offer a detailed picture of the rise and decline of the long...

Louisa Stuart Costello (1799 1870) was a poet and artist who supported her family with her paintings. As well as writing a number of historical novels, Costello researched and wrote the biographies of many prominent women, using their letters and diaries to tell their extraordinary stories. This third volume chronicles the lives of twenty-one women including Elizabeth Cromwell, wife of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Featuring letters between Elizabeth Cromwell and her husband, this biography gives a personal dimension to one of the most volatile periods in British history and covers the...

Louisa Stuart Costello (1799 1870) was a poet and artist who supported her family with her paintings. As well as writing a number of historical novels, Costello researched and wrote the biographies of many prominent women, using their letters and diaries to tell their extraordinary stories. This second volume chronicles the lives of eight women including Lucy Harrington, a literary patron who was a friend of John Donne and a muse to Ben Jonson. Also featured is the life of Frances Howard, who was accused of the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, who she saw as an obstacle to her marriage to...

Louisa Stuart Costello (1799 1870) was a poet and artist who supported her family with her paintings. As well as writing a number of historical novels, Costello researched and wrote the biographies of many prominent women, using their letters and diaries to tell their extraordinary stories. This first volume chronicles the lives of seven women including Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury (Bess of Hardwick), whose husband was the jailor to Mary, Queen of Scots. It includes letters written by Bess and those around her, including Queen Mary, whom Bess saw as a rival for her husband's affections....