An interesting look at the life of Admiral Nelson's mistress. ( )

Emma Hamilton was lover and confidante to some of the greatest men of her time. Born Amy Lyon, she was the daughter of a blacksmith near Cheshire, England. Her father died when she was two months old, and young Amy was raised by her mother, Mary, with no formal education. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Emma Carew, in 1781 when Emma was just sixteen years old. She then became a model for the English artist George Romney in 1782 under the name Emma Hart.

A woman of immense charm, kindness and ambition, Emma became the wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador to Naples in 1791. She was twenty-six, her husband was sixty. Two years later, she met and fell in love with the darling of Britain - Horatio Nelson. During their subsequent seven year love affair, she gave birth to a daughter, Horatia, whose birth she managed to keep secret from Sir William and London society.

After Horatio Nelson's death in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar, Emma fell into poverty, moved to France to escape her creditors, and later fell victim to alcoholism, dying of liver failure in 1815. Horatia Nelson eventually married a Reverend in 1822 and they had ten children. Although, Horatia acknowledged that she was the daughter of Horatio Nelson, she never publicly acknowledged being Emma Hamilton's daughter.

I loved this book. Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Lady Emma Hamilton's life, only that she was the mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson. I give Emma Hamilton an A+! and will put it on my keeper shelf to read again sometime soon. ( )