REVIEWS:
“Coming upon a treasure-trove of papers, thousands of letters and dozens of diaries inspired David Waller to disinter Gertrude tenant fro the footnotes of in the lives of her eminent contemporaries. And what footnotes they are, ranging across art, literature, politics and landowning … [including] Gladstone and Disraeli … Millais was a friend and also in her circle were Henry James, Robert Browning and Oscar Wilde.”
- Charlotte Gere, The Art Newspaper

“Wilde, Gladstone and Hugo are among those who animate [the] pages. It could be Thackeray at his best” - Christopher Hawtree, The Independent

‘Thoroughly engaging and extremely well written. The Magnificent Mrs Tennant is not only the story of a fascinating woman's rise through intelligent Victorian Society, but an eye-opening portrait of life amongst the great men of the day.
- Frances Osborne, author of The Bolter

‘David Waller has written an engaging biography about the marvellous Gertrude Tennant. We all need someone like Gertrude in our lives, failing that, having her for a quiet hour or two is a delicious treat.’ - Amanda Foreman

‘This richly rewarding picture of late Victorian society paints a portrait of a woman with appeal and grace.’ - Judith Flanders

‘An unusual and involving story, impressively researched and vividly told’ - Tim Jeal

DESCRIPTION:
Gertrude Tennant's life was remarkable for its length (1819-1918), but even more so for the influence she achieved as an unsurpassed London hostess. The salon she established when widowed in her early fifties attracted legions of celebrities, among them Gladstone and Disraeli, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Thomas Huxley, John Everett Millais, Henry James, and Robert Browning. In her youth she had a fling with Gustave Flaubert, and in her later years she became the redoubtable mother-in-law to the explorer Henry Morton Stanley. But as a woman in a male-dominated world, Mrs. Tennant has been remembered mainly as a footnote in the lives of eminent men.This book recovers the lost life of Gertrude Tennant, drawing on a treasuretrove of recently discovered family papers - thousands of letters, including two dozen original letters from Flaubert to Gertrude, dozens of diaries, and many other unpublished documents relating to Stanley and other famous figures of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. David Waller presents Gertrude Tennant's life in colourful detail, placing her not only at the heart of a multi-generational, matriarchal family epic but also at the centre of European social, literary, and intellectual life for the best part of a century.

MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK:
Podcast courtesy of The Biography Podcast

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
Read more about David Waller. David Waller is a writer and business consultant based in London. He spent eight years as a correspondent with the Financial Times, winning a number of awards for his coverage of business and finance. For three years he was the FT's Frankfurt Correspondent where he wrote about German industry and finance, and for one year was deputy-head of the influential Lex Column.

SUBJECT CLASSIFICATIONS:
Biography & autobiography: historical, political & military
Social & cultural history

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Illustrations: 32 illustrations
Number of Pages: 336
Prizes: Shortlisted for Biographers' Club Prize for Best First Biography 2009.
Dewey: 942.081092