Mistress of the Elgin Marbles

Description

The remarkable Mary Nisbet was the Countess of Elgin in Romantic-era Scotland and the wife of the seventh Earl of Elgin. When Mary accompanied her husband to diplomatic duty in Turkey, she changed history. She helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, struck a seemingly impossible deal with Napoleon, and arranged the removal of famous marbles from the Parthenon. But all of her accomplishments would be overshadowed, however, by her scandalous divorce. Drawing from Mary’s own letters, scholar Susan Nagel tells Mary’s enthralling, inspiring, and suspenseful story in vibrant detail.

“A lively and welcome account of a charismatic woman.” “A sympathetic and emotionally charged portrait of Mary…[written] with insight and compassion yet without sentimentality.” “Absorbing…required reading for anyone interested in cultural history as well as the art of biography.” “Absorbing…required reading for anyone interested in cultural history as well as the art of biography.”

Additional information