Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery
Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Historian Miranda Kaufmann discusses her new book Heiresses featuring scandalous stories of wealthy plantation profiteers in Georgian Britain – and the lives of the enslaved people who suffered for their fortunes. Eye-opening."
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An event held at Bookhaus on Wednesday 17th September. The event starts at 18:00.
The sugar plantations of the Caribbean generated vast wealth not only for men, but women also
‘A must-read.’ Paterson Joseph, author of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho
This money enabled heiresses to marry into the top tiers of the aristocracy, construct lavish country homes, commission the era’s greatest artists and influence the nation’s politics. Their banquets, dresses and dowries all funded by the exploitation of enslaved men, women and children.
Following the lives of nine heiresses, Miranda Kaufmann peers beneath the demure, empire-waisted image of the Georgian heiress to reveal a murky world of inheritance, fortune-hunting and human exploitation.
From Jane Leigh Perrot, Jane Austen’s light-fingered aunt, to Elizabeth Vassall Fox, who faked her daughter’s death to maintain custody, Heiresses traces the often scandalous lives of the women who made Britain rich. Kaufmann also unearths the stories of the people the heiresses enslaved, whose labour funded their lifestyles with whom their fates were intimately intertwined.
Miranda will be here at bookhaus to launch her new book. Tickets cost £7 and include a glass of wine or a soft drink and £5 off the book. Presented by bookhaus
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
‘A must-read.’ Paterson Joseph, author of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho
This money enabled heiresses to marry into the top tiers of the aristocracy, construct lavish country homes, commission the era’s greatest artists and influence the nation’s politics. Their banquets, dresses and dowries all funded by the exploitation of enslaved men, women and children.
Following the lives of nine heiresses, Miranda Kaufmann peers beneath the demure, empire-waisted image of the Georgian heiress to reveal a murky world of inheritance, fortune-hunting and human exploitation.
From Jane Leigh Perrot, Jane Austen’s light-fingered aunt, to Elizabeth Vassall Fox, who faked her daughter’s death to maintain custody, Heiresses traces the often scandalous lives of the women who made Britain rich. Kaufmann also unearths the stories of the people the heiresses enslaved, whose labour funded their lifestyles with whom their fates were intimately intertwined.
Miranda will be here at bookhaus to launch her new book. Tickets cost £7 and include a glass of wine or a soft drink and £5 off the book. Presented by bookhaus
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
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