Présentation de l'éditeur
Hester Salusbury was a child prodigy. Later, as Hester Thrale, her wit, learning and vivacity would attract the greats of the day, Joshua Reynolds, Fanny Burney, Boswell, David Garrick and Edmund Burke to the household at Streatham Park. She published to great popularity and acclaim on Johnson, irritating the hell out of Boswell, and remains one of our most perceptive sources. One of our first female historians, a feminist without knowing it, she also broke new ground in politics and business. When her husband died, rumours flew that she'd wed Johnson. Instead, she ran off with an Italian music teacher.The scandal consumed London society - and her relationship with her daughters. But Hester was passionately in love (it was a love that nearly killed her). This is a brightly lit portrait of an exceptional woman whose life, loves and letters make a vivid and important contribution to our understanding of Georgian England. Praise for Ian McIntyre's "Dirt and Deity: A Life of Robert Burns": 'If you read Burns, then buy this. If you don't read Burns, then start' - "Economist". 'A shrewd, clear, comprehensive and wonderfully readable portrait of Burns as fallible man and gifted poet' - A.C. Grayling, "Financial Times". For "Joshua Reynolds": 'Stunning and richly entertaining...superlative' - Philip Hensher, "The Times".
Revue de presse
'This entertaining book brings [Hester] out of the Johnsonian shadow at last and Hester is revealed: a heroine of any age.' - Anne Sebba, The Times
'[A] marvellously rich biography.' - Frances Wilson, The Sunday Times
'An reassessment of [Hester] is long overdue ... Ian McIntyre has risen to the challenge, bringing to life this effervescent character and society ... Crisp and exact.' - Daily Telegraph
'At last [Hester] has been given a detailed and sympathetic hearing.' - The Spectator
'An reassessment of [Hester] is long overdue ... Ian McIntyre has risen to the challenge, bringing to life this effervescent character and society ... Crisp and exact.' - Daily Telegraph
'McIntyre is to be commended for portraying Hester s variability as the source of her strength rather than as a feminine weakness. In his affection and respect for her intellectual curiosity, emotional resilience and relish for life, he presents us with an 18th -century sensibility no less representative than Johnson's, but one demanding recognition rather than reverence.' - London Review of Books
'Fascinating.' --The Telegraph
'A story of a remarkable if not altogether likeable woman, well told.' --The Sunday Telegraph
'Fascinating.' --The Telegraph
'A story of a remarkable if not altogether likeable woman, well told.' --The Sunday Telegraph
Biographie de l'auteur
Ian McIntyre was Controller of BBC Radio 3 for nine years and is a former associate editor of The Times. He is the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Robert Burns ('the biography', Ian Hamilton, The Times) as well as lives of Joshua Reynolds, Garrick and the BBC's first Director-General, John Reith. He still broadcasts and is a regular contributor to The Times.
