First published 2012
Emma Hamilton starts life with nothing in the slums of eighteenth-century London. She sells her body in the city's brothels and back alleys, but Emma has bigger plans. Her beauty opens doors that birth never could. She transforms herself from a poor girl into a woman who captivates artists, aristocrats, and eventually Admiral Nelson himself. Emma becomes the nation's first media sensation, her image sold on everything from teacups to playing cards. The public adores her, but fame comes with a price. Emma's own appetites threaten to destroy everything she has built. She must choose between the respectability she craves and the passionate desires that drive her. Kate Williams brings Emma's world to life using hundreds of letters that reveal the woman behind the legend. This is the story of someone who refused to accept the limits society placed on her, even when those limits might have saved her from herself.
Genres: biography, drama, romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: rags-to-riches, social-climbing
Setting: London
Period: 18th-Century
432 pages · Kindle Edition · Cornerstone Digital
Content warnings: sexual-content