Discover the Penguin books that shaped us

The Scandal of the Century

byLisa Hilton, Emma Gregory (Read by)

Format:

HardbackPaperbackEbookAudio Download

Buy the book from:

Apple BooksOpens in a new tabAudibleOpens in a new tabGoogle PlayOpens in a new tabHiveOpens in a new tabKoboOpens in a new tabLibro.fmOpens in a new tabSpotifyOpens in a new tabxigxagOpens in a new tab

Brought to you by Penguin.

This is The Scandal of the Century, the true story of the author Aphra Behn, who used a shocking love affair to create the first English novel . . .


London, 1682.


When Lady Henrietta Berkeley elopes with her sister’s husband, her subsequent capture and the lawsuit that follows tears through Restoration England as the scandal of the century.


But it also proves inspiration to one Aphra Behn – already condemned as a scarlet woman of loose morals – who pens a searing and outrageous bestseller based on Henrietta’s shocking affair.


The story of how and why Henrietta acted as she did, and how and why Behn came to write it becomes, in Lisa Hilton’s hands, a stunning portrait of two women attempting to smash the shackles enslaving their sex.


'Gloriously mind-boggling . . .This is a lively book, full of saucy millennial-type analogies' Spectator


©2024 Lisa Hilton (P)2024 Penguin Audio

'A landmark book, a sweeping, scintillatingly original, exciting and game changing exploration of writer, spy, power player, lover Aphra Behn. Thrilling, scholarly, powerfully researched, this is Aphra as she’s never been seen before. She bursts from the page, and Lisa Hilton brings to complex, unforgettable, vibrant life this fascinating woman and her unstable, dangerous times that have so much in common with ours'

Kate Williams, historian and author of Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots

About Lisa Hilton

Lisa Hilton is a best-selling author, historian, presenter and historical consultant. Taking inspiration from the lives of women who shaped the world, she has written six historical biographies including Athenais: The Real Queen of France (shortlisted for the Somerset Maugham Prize) and the critically-acclaimed Elizabeth, Renaissance Prince. She has presented numerous historical series, including 'Charles I: Downfall' (BBC4, 2019) and 'Charles I: Killing a King' (BBC4, 2020). Lisa grew up in the north of England and read English at New College, Oxford, after which she studied History of Art in Florence and Paris. Since then, Lisa has lived in New York, Paris, Milan and London.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9781405954761
  • Length: 540 minutes
  • Price: £14.00
All editions