Will I love Beloved Emma?

Vigée Le Brun knew Emma Hamilton (one of the “characters” of her day), painted her more than once, and tells us several anecdotes about Emma in her memoirs. Emma’s biography thus helps to round out a picture of the society in which Vigée Le Brun lived. 

Fraser gives us a readable, sympathetic, and convincing account of how strikingly beautiful Emma rose from lowly origins to the cream of society as wife of Sir William Hamilton, Britain’s ambassador to the court of Naples.

Secure in her place as Lady Hamilton, Emma had a notorious and passionate love affair with England’s great… show more.

Flora Fraser, daughter of Lady Antonia, crafted this more sedate biography a few decades ago but it has stood the test of time. There’s less scandal driving the narrative as the author is more measured and allows the material, which is fascinating enough, to speak for itself without improper or unnecessary embellishment. This makes it rather old-school, which I think is also nice, and the author conjures up a rather sympathetic version of Emma, seeing her as loyal and loving, and managing to free her from some of the tawdriness that some other accounts use to grab the reader’s attention.