Kirjahaku

Jane Shore often gets just a byline in history. We know her name, and that she was the mistress of a king. But who was this woman caputred for the stage by Shakespeare in 'Richard III', fictionalised by Jean Plaidy and others? Where did she come from? And how was it that having been mistress to the most powerful man in the land, she ended her years in prison and poverty? Jane Shore was born into a family of merchants and was married early, to William Shore. Having already attempted to get her marriage annulled - citing William's impotence - once she became involved with Edward IV it was inevitable that her marriage was dissolved. She is said to have been a benign influence - 'where men were out of favour, she would bring them in his grace' wrote Thomas More - even intervening to save Eton College and King's College from destruction. When the king died, her position became very vulnerable. Sorcery, treason, penance, imprisonment, poverty, escape and execution were key elements in the rest of Jane's life. Margaret Crosland draws on literary, historical and artistic sources to explore Jane's life both before and after Edward's demise.

'Admirable' New York Times Book Review 'One of the world's most distinguished scholars of de Sade' Independent The Marquis de Sade, infamous for his obscene writing and sexual cruelty, was incongruously married to a pious wife. A wife who, despite his peccadilloes, loved him devotedly for thirty years, through betrayal, imprisonment, and national turmoil. Bearing his children, editing his manuscripts, visiting him in prison, Renée-Pélagie de Montreuil endured her chaotic marriage with grace, achieving independence in an era when women were entitled to none. Their complex relationship, set against the French Revolution and its aftermath, is brought to life with humour and compassion by Margaret Crosland, the translator of Sade's Gothic Tales. Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe. Margaret Crosland (1920-2017), born in Shropshire, translated works by the Marquis de Sade, Émile Zola, Colette, Simone de Beauvoir and Cesare Pavese, among others, as well as writing many biographies and works of literary criticism. She was a leading authority on the life and work of the Marquis de Sade. Her prolific writings and translations were sometimes published under the pen name Leonard de Saint-Yves.