The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue
Language: English
Published by Liveright, 2015
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Powell's Bookstores Chicago, ABAA, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.Powell's Bookstores Chicago, ABAA
AbeBooks seller since February 25, 1998
Condition: Used
£ 7.02
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Cloth, dj. Slight shelf-wear.
Seller Inventory # 1860597
- Title
- The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue
- Author
- Eatwell, Piu Marie
- Publisher
- Liveright
- Publication year
- 2015
- Condition
- Used-Very Good
- Dust jacket
- dj
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1631491237
- ISBN 13
- 9781631491238
- Edition
- 1st Edition.
- Item weight
- 1.58 pounds
- Dimensions
- 9.60H x 6.60L x 1.30W
- Seller catalogs
- Great Britain
In 1898, an elderly widow, Anna Maria Druce, came to the British court with an astonishing request. She stood among the overflowing pews of St. Pauls Cathedral claiming that the merchant T. C. Druce, her late father-in-law, had in truth been a secret identity for none other than the deceased and enormously wealthy 5th Duke of Portland. Maintaining her composure amid growing agitation from the clutch of lawyers, journalists, and curious onlookers crowded into the church, Mrs. Druce claimed that Druce had been the duke's alter ego and that the duke had, in 1864, faked the death of his middle-class doppelgänger when he grew tired of the ruse. Mrs. Druce wanted the tomb unlocked and her father-in-law's coffin exhumed, adamant that it would lie empty, proving the falsehood and leaving her son to inherit the vast Portland estate. From that fateful afternoon, the lurid details of the Druce-Portland case spilled forth, seizing the attention of the British public for over a decade.
As the Victoria era gave way to the Edwardian, the rise of sensationalist media blurred every fact into fiction, and family secrets and fluid identities pushed class anxieties to new heights. The 5th Duke of Portland had long been the victim of suspicion and scandalous rumors; an odd man with a fervent penchant for privacy, he lived his days in precisely coordinated isolation in the dilapidated Welbeck Abbey estate. He constructed elaborate underground passageways from one end of his home to the other and communicated with his household staff through letters. T.C. Druce was a similarly mysterious figure and had always remained startlingly evasive about his origins; on his arrival in London he claimed to have "sprung from the clouds."
Drawing from revelations hidden within the Druce family tomb in the chilly confines of Highgate Cemetery, Piu Marie Eatwell recounts one of the most drawn-out sagas of the era in penetrating, gripping detail. From each thwarted investigation and wicked attempt to conceal evidence to the parade of peculiar figures announcing themselves as the rightful heir, Eatwell paints a portentous portrait of England at the dawn of the Edwardian age.
Few tales--be they by Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins, The Importance of Being Earnest or The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--could surpass the bizarre and deliciously dark twists and turns of the Druce-Portland affair. A mesmerizing tour through the tangled hierarchies of Edwardian England, The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse illuminates the lies, deceit, and hypocrisy practiced by "genteel" society at the time--and their inevitably sordid consequences.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Powell's Bookstores Chicago, ABAA
Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 5 to 14 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 3.79 | £ 3.79 |
Payment methods
Store description
Independent Bookstores since 1971.
Specialty
Philosophy, Medieval Studies, Art & Architecture, Mathematics & Physics, Literary Criticism, Ancient History, Social Sciences, Americana, Theology, Anthropology & ArchaeologyAssociation member
Seller's business information
Powell's Bookstores Chicago, ABAA
1501 E. 57th Street
Chicago, IL U.S.A. 60637
Terms of sale
All items subject to prior sale. No questions asked refunds within 60 days. For shipping rates, click "Shipping: Rates & Speed" above. Powells Bookstore Inc., 3429 W. 47th Street, Chicago, IL 60632; catorders@powellschicago.com; 773-376- 8106. VAT: N/A.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Powell's Bookstores Chicago, ABAA, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Orders ship within 2 business days. Domestic standard orders shipped via
USPS Bound Printed Matter; Domestic Expedited orders shipped via FedEx or UPS
Ground. All International orders shipped via courier, typically arriving
within 7-21 business days. Expedited and Standard International rates are the
same.