Mistress of the Elgin Marbles: A Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin
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Though the Earl of Elgin and his artists are blamed for stealing the statues from the Parthenon, it was his 21-year-old bride Mary (1777-1855) who financed the project; cajoled a captain to carry them back to England on a British naval vessel, directly disobeying Admiral Nelson who had ordered all ships ready for battle; and maybe even seduced the Ottoman sultan Selim III into letting her take them. These are among the revelations that Nagel (humanities, Marymount Manhattan College) makes in her biography. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, ORPublishers WeeklyThe lively and sharp-witted Scottish heiress Mary Nisbet (1778-1855) shone as the wife of Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin and Ambassador Extraordinaire to the Ottoman Empire-whose name became associated with the Parthenon friezes brought to England. In the earliest years of marriage, Mary was her husband's staunchest ally and participant in his diplomatic work, as her diaries and letters reveal. As Nagel shows, following Elgin's incarceration under Napoleon and after the tragic loss of their only son as an infant, Mary's feelings for Elgin began to cool. She resisted his demand for another heir, and their relationship collapsed when Elgin discovered Mary's affair with his best friend. The glamorous couple's marriage ended in scandal and a humiliating public divorce. Nagel, who has written for the stage, screen and scholarly journals, creates a sympathetic and emotionally charged portrait of Mary, tracing in vivid detail the couple's travels, the diplomatic challenges they faced and their growing marital tensions. Elgin's acquisition of the notorious "Elgin marbles" makes for dramatic reading, but the biography's chief merit is its wealth of domestic and intimate detail and Nagel's ability to chart the course of an elite marriage with insight and compassion yet without sentimentality. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Agent, Tina Bennett. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
AcknowledgmentsixChronologyxiiiFamily TreexviiiIntroduction1Chapter 1Launched from a Safe Harbor7Chapter 2New Horizons18Chapter 3The Newlyweds Set Sail29Chapter 4A Battle of Beauties39Chapter 5Letters: A Lifeline45Chapter 6Constantinople: "Ambassadress Poll" Makes Waves60Chapter 7Motherhood: Mary's North Star78Chapter 8Captain of Her Ship90Chapter 9Favorable Winds99Chapter 10The Stronger Vessel107Chapter 11Scuttled119Chapter 12Awash in Antiquities124Chapter 13The Acropolis: Caution to the Wind130Chapter 14Sailing, Sailing143Chapter 15The Calm Before the Storm148Chapter 16Shanghaied152Chapter 17In Irons162Chapter 18Rudderless171Chapter 19At Sea182Chapter 20Drowning in Debt192Chapter 21Breakwater203Chapter 22Shipwrecked215Chapter 23Rescued228Chapter 24A Beacon238Chapter 25Starboard Home251Epilogue255Appendix261Notes275Bibliography281Index285
