Divided Affections, The Extraordinary Life of Maria Cosway
Posted Nov 27, 2008 at 20:38 CET in Artists, Books, and People.
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Divided Affections, The Extraordinary Life of Maria Cosway by Carol Burnell
I was very kindly given this book months ago to review, but university plus myself being a slow reader resulted in me not finishing it until yesterday.
I had been wanting to learn more about Maria Cosway so I was very happy to receive the book. I was happily surprised to find that it was such a beautiful book, with many pictures and a beautiful layout. Pictures are a huge plus for me so I liked this book right away.
It’s a biography about Maria Cosway, with some parts written in a dramatized dialogue. The parts that are “made up” are in italics so you can clearly tell them from the rest which I think was a nice touch. Maria Cosway had a very interesting life and the book is very entertainingly written, not boring at all. It really made you feel like you were there, and I just really liked it. I have yet to read all the notes at the back of the book but there are lots of them and they look very interesting.
A great book and highly recommended to anyone interested in Maria Cosway or fashionable 18th century ladies in general.
(As a lover of 18th century fashion I have to point out a tiny fashion-related error. At one place in the book a dress is described which is clearly a so called chemise dress, also known as a gaulle or chemise à la Reine, but in the book it’s called a robe à l’ Anglaise.)
3 comments on “Divided Affections, The Extraordinary Life of Maria Cosway”
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donnasandra, donnasandra.blogg.se/historia
Tack för tipset! Ska spana in den boken!
Carol, mariacosway.com
Dear Joanna,
I just read the review of Divided Affections, my biography of Maria Cosway. I appreciate your kind words. As for the “robe a l’anglaise” I’ll have to look up where I found that name. I do have several issues of the 1786, 1787 Cabinet des Modes from Paris, which show various fashions.I haven’t photographed them yet.
As for the review, would you mind if I quoted parts of it on my web site, or other book sites like Goodreads or Amazon? Would you like to be linked to my site?
I love your blog because I love the 18th century and the fashions. Keep going.It is fascinating!
All best wishes,
Carol Burnell
Johanna, johannaost.com
I absolutely loved the book and I wouldn’t mind if you quote my review at all :) Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to read it!
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