The smart : the story of Margaret Caroline Rudd and the unfortunate Perreau brothers
Sarah Bakewell (Author)
"The Smart is a true drama of eighteenth-century life with a mercurial, mysterious heroine. Caroline is a young Irishwoman who runs off to marry a soldier, comes to London and slides into a glamorous life as a high-class prostitute, a great risk-taker, possessing a mesmerising appeal. In the early 1770s, she becomes involved with the intriguing Perreau twins, identical in looks but opposite in character, one a sober merchant, the other a raffish gambler just back from the West Indies. They begin forging bonds, living in increasing luxury until everything collapses like a house of cards - and forgery is a capital offence." "Caroline's notoriety added to her appeal. Her lovers included the celebrity-hunting James Boswell, whose colourful diary is only one of a host of documents that bring her world to life - ballads, letters, vivid court transcripts, furious pamphlets, heartrending accounts of the long ride to Tyburn. The Smart is meticulously researched and evocative history, full of the life of London streets and shot through with enduring themes - sex, money, death and fame. It bridges the gap between aristocracy and underworld, as eighteenth-century society is drawn into the most scandalous financial sting of the age. But while Sarah Bakewell pieces together the puzzle, she also asks us to play detective - is Margaret Caroline Rudd innocent or not?"--Jacket
Print Book, English, 2001
Chatto & Windus, London, 2001