History
Anne Somerset
Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion
3:00pm | Saturday 15 September 2012Tickets: | Duration: | Venue: |
£N/A | 1 Hour | Methodist Church |
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This was an Oxford Literary Festival 2012 Event.
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Blenheim Palace and its estate – venue of the literary festival – is inextricably bound to the life of Queen Anne. The monarch gave the estate to her loyal and successful commander Marlborough and his wife Sarah Churchill, herself an intimate friend and confidant of the Queen. The Marlboroughs exerted great influence over Anne but the relationship turned very difficult and they were forced into exile after a final quarrel.
In her new work, acclaimed biographer Anne Somerset describes the politics and personality clashes that surrounded the reign of Queen Anne, whose life was riven by passion, illness and intrigue. She describes how the final break with Sarah Churchill was precipitated by Sarah’s claim that it was the Queen’s lesbian infatuation with another lady-in-waiting that had destroyed their friendship. Despite the intrigue and infighting, Anne emerges as a successful ruler who set her nation on to the path of greatness.
Somerset has won acclaim for her accessible works of popular history including her biography of Elizabeth I. Her books also include Unnatural Murder: Poison in the Court of James I, which won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for non-fiction.
In association with the Woodstock Bookshop.