TBR 6: Nancy - The Story of Lady Astor

    "The glamorous, page-turning story of the incredible life of Nancy Astor, Britain's first female MP*", Nancy: The Story of Lady Astor by Adrian Fort "brings to life - with glorious, page-turning brio - this restless, controversial American dynamo, an unforgettable woman who left a deep and lasting imprint on the political life of our nation."

    I know something of Lady Astor through the books of her niece Joyce Grenfell, and the excellent biography Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox, and so I'm very keen to read Adrian Fort's book:

    "... Far from a virago who had suffered for the cause of female suffrage, when she entered Parliament she was already near the centre of the ruling society that had for so long resisted the political upheavals of the early twentieth century, having married into the family of one of the richest men in the world. She was not even British. Yet she would prove to be a trailblazer and beacon for the generations of women who would follow her into Parliament.

    The book charts Nancy's story from penury in the American South, to a lifestyle of immense riches, from the luxury of Edwardian England, through the 'Jazz Age', and on towards the Second World War: a world of great country estates, lavish town houses and the most sumptuous entertainments. Her world was people by many of the great figures of the day - Churchill, Chamberlain, Roosevelt, J.M. Barrie and Lawrence of Arabia were all part of her social circle. But hers was not only a life of power, glamour and easy charm: it was also defined by principles and bravery, by war and sacrifice, by love and bitter disputes."

*She was the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons; Constance Markievicz was the first woman to be elected to Parliament.