The Ladies of Llangollen: A Study in Romantic Friendship (Penguin Classic Biography S.)

by ElizabethMavor (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2001

  $5.34

  Lady Eleanor Butler, a handsome, unconventional woman, was 29 when she met Sarah Ponsonby, a sensitive, retiring girl of 13. They developed an intensely close friendship, and ten years later in 1778, to the horror of their families, the two ladies eloped. After their dramatic escape across the Irish Sea, they settled together in an idyllc cottage in Llangollen in Wales. There, amid scandal and innuendo, their unorthodox relationship blossomed, and their generous civilized and romantic way of living eventually became a legend. Their fame travelled widely: Lady Caroline Lamb and Josiah Wedgwood visited them, Wordsworth and Southey wrote poetry under their roof, and other celebrities of the day, such as the Duke of Wellington, became cherished friends. Depicting a relationship that lasted over 50 years, Elizabeth Mavor's beautifully detailed biography gives us a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of two remarkable women.

• Used

  Paperback
  1974

  $5.28

  Lady Eleanor Butler was 29 when she first met Sarah Ponsonby, a sensitive, retiring girl of 13. Ten years later, in 1778, the two ladies eloped. Amid scenes of scandal and havoc they settled in a cottage in Llangollen where their unorthodox relationship blossomed and their way of living became a legend. Lady Caroline Lamb and Josiah Wedgwood visited them, Wordsworth and Southey wrote poetry under their roof and other celebrities of the day, such as the Duke of Wellington, became their friends. This biography depicts a friendship that lasted over 50 years.