The Fortune Hunter A German Prince in Regency England |
|
| Author:
| Bowman, Peter James |
| ISBN: | 978-1-283-41182-0 |
| Publication Date: | May 2014 |
| Publisher: | Signal Books
|
| Book Format: | Ebook |
| List Price: | USD $70.98 |
Book Description:
|
The two decades after Waterloo marked the great age of foreign fortune hunters in England. Each year brought a new influx of impecunious Continental noblemen to the worlds richest country, and the more brides they carried off, the more alarmed society became.The most colourful of these men was Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau (1785-1871), remembered today as Germanys finest landscape gardener. In the mid-1820s, however, his efforts to turn his estate into a magnificent park came close...
More DescriptionThe two decades after Waterloo marked the great age of foreign fortune hunters in England. Each year brought a new influx of impecunious Continental noblemen to the worlds richest country, and the more brides they carried off, the more alarmed society became.The most colourful of these men was Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau (1785-1871), remembered today as Germanys finest landscape gardener. In the mid-1820s, however, his efforts to turn his estate into a magnificent park came close to bankrupting him. To save his legacy his wife Lucie devised an unusual plan: they would divorce so that Puckler could marry an heiress who would finance further landscaping and, after a decent interval, be cajoled into accepting Lucies continued residence. In September 1826, his marriage dissolved, Puckler set off for London.Puckler is the most intelligent of the overseas visitors who noted their impressions of Regency England. His matrimonial quest brings him into contact with such luminaries as Walter Scott, George Canning, Princess Lieven, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, Beau Brummell and John Nash. The object of many rumours and caricatures, the prince sticks doggedly to his task for nearly two years. And just when it seems that he has failed, England fills his coffers in the most unexpected way, and in doing so launches him on a new career.In telling the story of Pucklers adventures in the context of the trend for Anglo-European marriages based on the exchange of a title for money, The Fortune Hunter writes a new chapter in the history of Englands relationship with its Continental neighbours.