Karla B. (gaslight) -
Helpful Score: 4
Silly & shallow book with the odd & clunky placement of facts dropped into the narrative and dialogue like anvils. (Example: during foreplay, Banastre Tarleton cites the correct issue of a magazine where he read one of Mary's poems. It reads like a footnote.) The theatre & its luminaries aren't even treated that deeply, since Mary's career was very brief. Likewise, the affair with the Prince (the selling point of the book) lasted all of 6 months. The majority of the book is Mary acting like a willing and desperate doormat to her men. Ugh.
D. Leah L. (DLeahL) -
Helpful Score: 2
This is a well-researched and written fictional biography of a minor player in 18th century British society. Mary Robinson was indeed the mistress of the Prince of Wales, but it was only for a short period of his and her lives. She was well known as a theatrical actress and although she was often in the company of the nobility such as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, it was brought brutally home to her that, common born as she was, she would never really be "one of them." It is likely that her personality as an intelligent, strong willed and passionate woman is the result of what basically can be seen as the trainwreck of her personal life. The severe and undue insults and depravation brought upon her by her love affairs with men was so striking that her daughter determined to remain single all of her life. Robinson was multi-talented - in addition to her theatrical and social skills she was also a writer of plays and books. Unfortunately, this intelligence did not play into her romantic and intimate life.
This book gives quite an accurate portrayal of this courageous yet foolhardy woman, highlighting her talents and abilities while not sugar coating the low points which constantly appeared throughout her life. It gives the reader a view of British society at one of its most scintillating and interesting periods, from within but also from without.
This book gives quite an accurate portrayal of this courageous yet foolhardy woman, highlighting her talents and abilities while not sugar coating the low points which constantly appeared throughout her life. It gives the reader a view of British society at one of its most scintillating and interesting periods, from within but also from without.
Sherry G. (Shervivor) -
From the back cover:
"At only fifteen, Mary Robinson was married off to an unfaithful wastrel. Over the next seven years, her spellbounding talent, beauty, and drive would lead her from the denigration of debtors' prison to the London stages, where a star was born. With the heart of a poet and the face of an angel, she was sold as societty's darling. Though she was dubbed the "Priestess of Taste" for her dashing style, her unabashed exploits made her the queen of scandal, envied by women worldwide and desired by every man within reach.
From Mary Robinson's shocking affair with the Prince of Wales and the fortuitous liaisons that titillated the country, to heartbreaking betrayals and restless pursuit of true romance, this breathtaking novel paints a vivid potrait of a woman who changed history by doing as she pleased-for money, for fame, for pleasure, and above all, for love."
This is good historical fiction that proves, once again, how rough it was to be a woman in a man's world during the 18th century.
"At only fifteen, Mary Robinson was married off to an unfaithful wastrel. Over the next seven years, her spellbounding talent, beauty, and drive would lead her from the denigration of debtors' prison to the London stages, where a star was born. With the heart of a poet and the face of an angel, she was sold as societty's darling. Though she was dubbed the "Priestess of Taste" for her dashing style, her unabashed exploits made her the queen of scandal, envied by women worldwide and desired by every man within reach.
From Mary Robinson's shocking affair with the Prince of Wales and the fortuitous liaisons that titillated the country, to heartbreaking betrayals and restless pursuit of true romance, this breathtaking novel paints a vivid potrait of a woman who changed history by doing as she pleased-for money, for fame, for pleasure, and above all, for love."
This is good historical fiction that proves, once again, how rough it was to be a woman in a man's world during the 18th century.
Kathie S. (CraftyKat) - , reviewed All For Love: The Scandalous Life and Times of Royal Mistress Mary Robinson on + 404 more book reviews
An easy read with interesting information.
