I’m currently reading “The Lady in Red” which is a biography about Lady Seymour Worsley, who was the centrepiece of a major Georgian trial in February 1782. Seymour was a contemporary of Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (yes, that Duchess as in the movie) and until I got to page 141, I didn’t realise her antics far outstripped that of the Duchess. I’d resisted reading any further than a brief synopsis on Amazon, so imagine my eyes popping out of my head…

I started reading as an offshoot of my Tudor reading (Seymour’s husband was a direct descendant of that Worsley) and because I’ve always liked Regency/Georgian history. What I didn’t realise is that this bio is like a train wreck – you know someone’s made an absolute mess of things but you can’t stop reading.

The centrepiece of this is a Criminal Conversion trial against a Maurice George Bisset by Sir Richard Worsley and also Sir Richard’s movement to restrict his wife further, after she had gone against convention and run away with his fellow officer, Bisset. Picture this – Worsley is screened from view in the open court forum of the Court of the King’s Bench. His four lawyers have presented what seems like a water-tight case of adultery and “crim. con.” against Bisset, and he can feel that the jurors are on his side (he was asking an almost impossible sum, twenty thousand pounds damages) and soon all the embarrassment will be over.

Then the defence lawyers, namely one Edward Bearcroft, drop the bomb. As Justice Mansfield has stated, “If a Plantiff encourages, or is privy to, or consenting at all, or contributing to the debauchery of his Wife, or joined in it, he ought not to recover a verdict.”

Bearcroft then starts to reveal Seymour’s marital history. “Prior connections to such an extent that the idea of seduction by the present Defendant was totally done away”.

So this is the bit that I am now up to. Annoyed that I have to put it down and return to my spreadsheets! Altho it is starting to sound a bit like a Women’s Day or Slater/Whale Oil salacious “news” article, ick.

Non-affiliate link: http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Red-Eighteenth-Century-Scandal-Divorce/dp/B0071UN9CI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412622484&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lady+in+red

If you like the thought of this one, also try my absolute fav, the biography of Jane Digby (the cover is coming off, and yes, I actually kept the print version!) http://www.amazon.com/Scandalous-Life-Biography-Jane-Digby/dp/1857024699/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=15DZ27YSD4HTTVPVCWCX Anything by Mary S. Lovell is well worth the hunt.

On other news, tonight is Date Night. We’re off to see Gone Girl (hopefully) dependant on Si’s physio appt.

Stitching – still on the mermaid and I haven’t picked up Stargazer in weeks, if not months. I’m so tired! Yesterday got given some meds and discussed further treatment options. A couple of choices ahead. What is apparent is that I can’t keep up with having an iron level as low as it has been. I didn’t even dare tell the doctor about the dizzy spells.

Stayed up late Sunday to watch the Rabbitohs thump the Bulldogs. WOO HOO! One of the best Grand Finals I’ve seen in a while, courage on the field and little dirty play. The ref also didn’t decide the game, the players did, which is an improvement on some of the season’s games. Mase now wants me to buy him Souths jammies when we go to Sydney later on this year, while B is telling me he was only wearing his Bulldogs gear because it was all he had (cough). Yeah, right.

Project Life – caught up on June, July & August. Need a few hours each weekend and that is hard to find!

Gardening – got all the seedlings out and the weather turned nasty. Resigned to re-sowing the tomatoes and cucumbers. Some basil & Italian parsley that I had on the windowsill are thriving in the old coffee cans. Can’t wait to make my own pesto. The rosemary cuttings that were on the windowsill are doing ok too, out in the pot on the patio. Starting to plan how I will plant out the top end of the section but this is a little restricted, given the stormwater drain running along the fence line.