History of Cliveden’s tenacious women revealed in new book

History books can sometimes be a little dry, skimming over the juicy and salacious details in favour of the rather mundane.
Clivedon HouseClivedon House
Clivedon House

But a new book which documents the lives of the remarkable women who shaped Cliveden House does the precise opposite.

Written by journalist Natalie Livingstone, it is a labour of love, devised when her husband Ian purchased the lease to run part of 
the historic property as a hotel.

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Spanning over 300 years the book, entitled The Mistresses of Cliveden, exposes the house as an ‘emblem of elite misbehaviour and intrigue’.

The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue PNL-150626-095714001The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue PNL-150626-095714001
The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue PNL-150626-095714001

Cliveden House was built in the reign of Charles II by the Duke of Buckingham.

The primary purpose of the home was for the Duke to conduct a scandalous affair with ambitious courtesan Anna-Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury.

During the home’s 1960s period 300 years later, it served as the stage for scandal once again.

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This time the pool area would be the site of the very first meeting of Christine Keeler and John Profumo, which would result in a scandal which rocked he public’s faith in the establishment.

Author Natalie LivingstoneAuthor Natalie Livingstone
Author Natalie Livingstone

In the years between both scandals, Cliveden was home to a string of tenacious women – all of whom made their mark on the society in which they lived.

One of these woman was Nancy Astor, the first woman to take a seat in parliament, another Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, a society hostess who turned political campaigner. And Mrs Livingstone says that writing the book has unearthed vital parts of these stories for the first time.

She said: “There were so many surprises when I did the research.

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“Stories that appeared to be a fait accompli at first were challenged when I looked at all the resources.

“In the case of Anna Maria, in previous history books her story has been told as a straight forward morality tale of a voracious woman who abandoned her children.

“But where Victorian writers portrayed it that way, through the research I found a woman who had 
to defend herself against very competitive court culture.”

It took two years for Mrs Livingstone to write the book, and she took a sabbatical from a 15-year career in journalism to focus on her research full time.

She said: “It was a very intense experience.

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“I worked really, really long hours and had very few days off.

“It was a really labour intensive project and a massive undertaking.”

She added: “But when I first saw the house, as anyone that sees the view and goes up that gravel path will know, I was completely intoxicated by it.”

And Mrs Livingstone believes that the book will be an entertaining read, as well as a historical work.

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She said: “It’s a fun read. Because I was teaching myself about these periods in history I hope I have been able to take the readers by the hand in the same way.

“It has affairs, scandals, a little bit of sex and is certainly not dry.”

The Mistresses of Cliveden is published by Penguin Random House and is released tomorrow (Thursday).

For more information visit www.randomhouse.co.uk

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