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Emma Hart as Circe, by George Romney
In Cupid Unfastening the Girdle of Venus, later snapped up by Prince Potemkin for Catherine the Great, Joshua Reynolds makes a sly joke on Emma’s work at the Temple of Health.
Emma’s mother, Mrs. Cadogan, who was her faithful supporter and friend
Charles Greville, aesthete and aristocrat, broke Emma’s heart.
Emma Hart as the Spinstress, by George Romney—a joke on her life as Greville’s mistress in the country
In George Romney’s Sensibility, later titled Lady Hamilton as Nature, Emma is the picture of innocence—even though she had just given birth to Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh’s illegitimate daughter.
Emma’s view from her window swept the whole bay of Naples and gave her a bird’s-eye view of the bubbling volcano.
Sir William Hamilton— intellectual, connoisseur, and ambassador to Naples—fell in love with Emma against his better instincts.
Emma as a dancing Bacchante, by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
A dancer in a Neapolitan brothel in 1945, performing her version of Emma’s Attitudes
Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun’s portrait of Emma as a reclining Bacchante was Sir William’s prized possession.
Emma begs Horatio Nelson to come to Naples and rescue her friends from Napoleon— making it clear she will welcome him with passion.
Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, pictured here with one of her many children, was magisterial, ruthless, and hungry for affection.
Nelson arrived in Naples, resplendent in his medal and fresh from success at the Battle of the Nile, and Emma was determined to capture his heart.
Nelson enjoying a drink with his sailors. Life on the ship was fueled by gallons of beer and wine.
Nelson’s quiet and reserved wife had none of Emma’s fizz and glamour. Nelson had fallen out of love with her and he was craving affection.
Thomas Rowlandson’s Modern Antiques ridiculed the setup at Merton, showing a crabby old Sir William protesting as the lovers frolic in a mummy case.
In Dido in Despair, James Gillray made a joke out of what everybody already knew: Nelson had sailed away and left Emma with her husband—and very pregnant.
Before long, Emma was featured on commemorative Nelson goods. On the silver pocket watch, she waves him off from the quayside, and on the fine china mug, Emma as Britannia clutches a shield bearing the hero.
Fanmakers, haberdashers, fashion designers, and dress makers were just a few of the manufacturers cashing in on the wild craze for Nelson goods.
Paradise Merton; Emma’s beloved home with Nelson
Horatia Nelson, Emma’s daughter with her lover, aged about four
Emma covered Merton with representations of Nelson and herself—such as the embroidery of the two of them as the famous sentimental lovers from Laurence Sterne’s novel, A Sentimental Journey, Yorick and Maria.
The Death of Admiral Lord Nelson—in the Moment of Victory, by James Gillray. The nation’s artists drew Emma into the scene of Nelson’s death.
Horatia’s copy of Moral Maxims, a popular eighteenth-century children’s book, inscribed with her mother’s hope that her daughter would be, “good, virtuous and love wisdom, knowledge and understanding.”
When Romney painted Emma as a nun, he was making a joke about her earlier life as a courtesan. By 1814, she was living right opposite the Magdalen House, the home for penitent prostitutes.
The King’s Bench Prison in London, depicted by Thomas Rowlandson in 1808, not long before Emma arrived there
Copyright © 2006 by Kate Williams
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books,
an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York. Published in Great Britain by Hutchinson,
an imprint of Random House Group, Ltd.
BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Williams, Kate.
England’s mistress: the infamous life of Emma Hamilton/Kate Williams.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN: 978-0-307-48429-1
1. Hamilton, Emma, Lady, 1761?–1815. 2. Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount,
1758-1805—Relations with women. 3. British—Italy—Naples—History—18th century.
4. Hamilton, William, Sir, 1730-1803—Marriage. 5. Ambassadors’ spouses—Great Britain—
Biography. 6. Mistresses—Great Britain—Biography. I. Title.
DA483.H3W55 2006
941.07′3092—dc22
[B] 2006049881
www.ballantinebooks.com
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