Endeavour, free
The Gilded Lily: The Life and Loves of the Fabulous Lillie Langtry by
Ernest Dudley
First published in 1958 by Odhams Press Limited
The fascinating “Jersey Lily” whose name remains a legend.
A woman of “unique loveliness, scintillating wit and implacable courage” came to London in 1878, young, married, ambitious but unknown. Within a year she had so captivated Society that crowds followed her in the street, fashions were named after her, leading painters, writers, noblemen and men of fortune vied for her favours and Queen Victoria herself received her in audience—curious to see the woman whom, the world knew, the Prince of Wales had taken as his mistress.
Ernest Dudley ran away from home at seventeen to become an actor in a Shakespearean troop, where he would later meet his future wife on the set of Peter Pan. Dudley then turned his attention to writing, first as a journalist, then as a writer for radio, television and film, before embarking on historical and detective novel writing. He was a founding member of the Crime Writers Association, and a marathon runner well into old age.
https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Lily-F...dp/B07KCNG7BR/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gilded-Lily...dp/B07KCNG7BR/
https://www.amazon.ca/Gilded-Lily-Fa...dp/B07KCNG7BR/