The Scandal of the Century

This is The Scandal of the Century, the true story of the author Aphra Behn, who used a shocking love affair to create the first English novel . . . 'Gloriously mind-boggling . . .This is a lively book, full of saucy millennial-type analogies' Spectator – London, 1682. When Lady Henrietta Berkeley elopes with her sister’s husband, her subsequent capture and the lawsuit that follows tears through Restoration England as the scandal of the century. But it also proves inspiration to one Aphra Behn – already condemned as a scarlet woman of loose morals – who pens a searing and outrageous bestseller based on Henrietta’s shocking affair. The story of how and why Henrietta acted as she did, and how and why Behn came to write it becomes, in Lisa Hilton’s hands, a stunning portrait of two women attempting to smash the shackles enslaving their sex. – PRAISE FOR THE SCANDAL OF THE CENTURY 'A landmark book, a sweeping, scintillatingly original, exciting and game changing exploration of writer, spy, power player, lover Aphra Behn. Thrilling, scholarly, powerfully researched, this is Aphra as she’s never been seen before' Kate Williams, historian and author of Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots 'The Scandal of the Century allows Hilton to showcase her skill for both historical and detective work and compelling, evocative writing . . . compelling to read [and] refreshingly transparent . . . Her fresh ideas could open up exciting paths for future scholars’ BBC History Magazine 'An enjoyable read . . . challenging - but always entertaining' Literary Review 'Engaging, ingenious, lively . . . Hilton skilfully narrates background material of the Restoration' TLS Aphra herself is an enigma, the facts about her life continually disputed. By revealing the story of these two rebellious and ruthless women, Lisa Hilton's new history offers a surprisingly original theory on the origins of one of England's most celebrated playwrights. Against the backdrop of seventeenth-century England, with its strict traditional conventions of love, duty and identity, The Scandal of the Century shows just how far both women will go to break free. --- 'Gloriously mind-boggling . . . This is a lively book' Spectator