Du Maurier's great-great-grandmother, Mary Anne Clarke, was mistress to the Duke of York during the Napoleonic Wars. In a sometimes cumbersome combination of fact and fiction, du Maurier chronicles the rags-to-riches tale of her bright, ambitious, amoral ancestor, who, overwhelmed by youthful passion, marries at 16. After her husband drinks himself into insensibility and is institutionalized, she passes as a widow, attracting the attention of the duke. Carole Boyd creates an appealing, headstrong Mary Anne. Her attitude is whimsical, often mischievous, as the young woman recognizes her taste for luxury and power. In intimate tones, she reveals the skilled courtesan who finally overreaches herself. However, in the sections recreating the House of Commons investigation into the duke's activities, not even Boyd's performance can keep things from bogging down. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine--
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Product Description
Daphne Du Maurier's story of sex, society and scandal, based on the life of her great-great-grandmother. Cockney girl Mary Anne has known the grinding heel of poverty. Now, with beauty, brains and ambition, and the glittering decadence of Regency London to sustain her, she becomes a Royal mistress.
