Love, Madness, and Scandal : The Life of Frances Coke Villiers, Viscountess Purbeck

In early June of 1645, the town of Oxford was under siege. TheParliamentarian New Model Army had arrived three weeks prior,rapidly blockading all entrances and exits and trapping thenervous inhabitants inside. Normally a centre for learning,Oxford had been transformed into royal headquarters during theEnglish Civil Wars, and King Charles’s courtiers and supporterscrowded into the small town until it was bursting at the seams.Lords and ladies, used to the luxury of palaces and large staffsof servants to tend to their every need, now had to suffermeagre and plain dishes in cramped quarters. The town streetssoon overflowed with trash and filth. By now used to hearingthe constant stream of news of other towns and areas falling toParliamentarian forces, their citizens sometimes robbed, beaten,and killed, the inhabitants of Oxford worried that they would benext. News of recent royalist atrocities during the taking of thecity of Leicester might ignite a desire for revenge among theParliamentarian troops just outside the gates. At the time, thetown was only protected by a small garrison, making matterseven more precarious: the king and the majority of his forceswere campaigning elsewhere.The historical Frances has remained rather elusive. Thebiographer’s main challenge is her silence. She was neither apolitical person, nor a literary one, and thus no one thought itimportant to preserve most of the papers an upper-class lifenecessarily produced. Only a precious few of her letters andpetitions have survived, giving us a glimpse of Frances’s owninterpretations of her life and actions. Instead, we learn abouther mostly because of others’ reactions to her deeds,movements, and decisions. Because her parents, husband, andin-laws were influential people at court, people who cared aboutcourt politics and wanted to keep abreast of the news oftenwrote about Frances’s contentious marriage and the scandalsthat followed when she had an affair. The high society of Stuart England found Frances Coke Villiers, Viscountess Purbeck (1602-1645) an exasperating woman. She lived at a time when women were expected to be obedient, silent, and chaste, but Frances displayed none of these qualities. Her determination to ignore convention contributed in no small measure to a life of high drama, one which encompassed kidnappings, secret rendezvous, an illegitimate child, accusations of black magic, imprisonments, disappearances, and exile, not to mention court appearances, high-speed chases, a jail-break, deadly disease, royal fury, and - by turns - religious condemnation and conversion. As a child, Frances became a political pawn at the court of King James I. Her wealthy parents, themselves trapped in a disastrous marriage, fought tooth and nail over whom Frances should marry, pulling both king and court into their extended battles. When Frances was fifteen, her father forced her to marry John Villiers, the elder brother of the royal favourite, the Duke of Buckingham. But as her husband succumbed to mental illness, Frances fell for another man, and soon found herself pregnant with her lover's child. The Viscountess paid a heavy price for her illicit love. Her outraged in-laws used their influence to bring her down. But bravely defying both social and religious convention, Frances refused to bow to the combined authority of her family, her church, or her king, and fought stubbornly to defend her honour, as well as the position of her illegitimate son. On one level a thrilling tale of love and sex, kidnapping and elopement, the life of Frances Coke Villiers is also the story of an exceptional woman, whose personal experiences intertwined with the court politics and religious disputes of a tumultuous and crucially formative period in English history. The High Society Of Stuart England Found Frances Coke Villiers, Viscountess Purbeck (1602-1645) An Exasperating Woman. She Lived At A Time When Women Were Expected To Obedient, Silent, And Chaste, But Frances Displayed None Of These Qualities. Her Determination To Ignore Convention Contributed In No Small Measure To A Live Of High Drama, One Which Encompassed Kidnappings, Secret Rendezvous, An Illegitimate Child, Accusations Of Black Magic, Imprisonments, Disappearances, And Exile, Not To Mention Court Appearances, High-speed Chases, A Jail-break, Deadly Disease, Royal Fury, And - By Turns - Religious Condemnation And Conversion. 0on One Level A Thrilling Tale Of Love And Sex, Kidnapping And Elopement, The Life Of Frances Coke Villiers Is Also The Story Of An Exceptional Woman, Whose Personal Experiences Intertwined With The Court Politics And Religious Disputes Of A Tumultuous And Crucially Formative Period In English History. Johanna Luthman. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 201-208) And Index. The life of Frances Coke Villiers, Viscountess Purbeck. A story of love, sex, and high drama set against the backdrop of a tumultuous and formative period of English history, this is also the story of an exceptional and courageous rebel against an age in which women were expected to be obedient, silent, and chaste