Cassandra Brydges, Duchess of Chandos, 1670-1735

Download or read book Cassandra Brydges, Duchess of Chandos, 1670-1735 written by Cassandra Willoughby Brydges Duchess of Chandos and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cassandra Brydges, née Willoughby (1670-1735), was a remarkable woman; through her marriage at the age of 43 to the immensely wealthy and influential James Brydges (later the first duke of Chandos), she was connected to many of the most important members of society at the time. Unusually for the period, much of her writing survives, including an extensive collection of correspondence, and it is therefore possible to gain a richer picture of her life. This book presents all the known extant letters of the duchess. They reveal a woman engaged in a very wide range of activities - from managing family and the family fortunes, investing on the stock market, socialising with a wide range of important and influential people, to matchmaking, expressing views on social conduct, painting, and researching family history. They are accompanied by an introduction, providing an overview of her life, and full notes. Professor ROSEMARY O'DAY teaches in the Department of History at the Open University.