Star of the Morning: The Extraordinary Life of Lady Hester Stanhope: Amazon.co.uk: Kirsten Ellis: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

The life of Lady Hester Stanhope reads like the purest fiction. If a screenwriter were to present this scenario to a film company, it would probably be dismissed as unlikely in the extreme. But in Kirsten Ellis's Star of the Morning: The Extraordinary Life of Lady Hester Stanhope, we are presented with a fascinating factual biography that outdoes the most outlandish fiction.

From her youth, it was abundantly evident that Lady Hester Stanhope was likely to pursue a very different destiny from that of her contemporaries, but few could have guessed the bizarre journey she would be taking. As the daughter of the eccentric Earl Stanhope, she sported an unconventional manner even as she abandoned her family home to become a society hostess at the house of her uncle, William Pitt the Younger, the Prime Minister. Within this glittering social circle, she quickly became a star, pursued by many highborn admirers -- and a celibate lifestyle was not one that the rebellious Hester chose for herself. Her list of lovers was impressive, but she resisted the temptation to marry; she knew that there were other possibilities in her life that she must explore. When Pitt died, she found herself without a home, and decided to leave Britain. Setting out with a young lover (who later returned to Britain for family commitments), she travelled through the Mediterranean and beyond. It was in the Middle East that the seeds of her legend were sown. At this time, she became the most celebrated female traveller of her era, and was the first woman from England to traverse the Syrian desert, celebrated by the Bedouin as their 'Star of the Morning'. Establishing an impressive home in the mountains of Lebanon, she began to become a player in the tortuous politics of the region. But how was she, an Englishwoman, able to deal with the Middle Eastern rulers and politicians, not accustomed to taking women seriously? Hester, knowing that she was not cut out to wear the veil, began to dress in male clothing -- and even to bear arms. The effect of this remarkable woman on those around her was seismic, and she began to be regarded almost as a queen, inspiring feelings of awe. But Hester had always had a passionate belief in some of the obscure byways of the supernatural (she was obsessed with preparing herself for the second coming of Christ), and as her mental acuity began to wane, so did her influence. Soon, almost all she owned had fallen away from her, with only the doctor she had travelled to the Middle East with remaining as her confidant.

Kirsten Ellis's exuberantly written biography does full justice to her larger-than-life subject, celebrating this unlikely heroine who made her mark in both the male-dominated societies of Britain and the Middle East. Ellis has also discovered many startling new facts about Hester, including details of her relationships with adventurous figures of the day such as Sidney Smith and the revolutionary Latin general de Miranda (not to mention her dabbling in espionage -- another unlikely but fascinating aspect of her astonishing story). --Barry Forshaw

Review

‘Ellis has unearthed fresh material, and retells the story with idiosyncratic panache.… Ellis is a vivid narrator with an eye for detail…This book leaves little doubt that Lady Hester was brave, whether standing in her stirrups to fend off a charge or tossing her head as gossip about a love affair swirled around the salons of London and Damascus.’ Sara Wheeler, Sunday Telegraph

‘As Kirsten Ellis vividly shows, Hester Stanhope’s story is one of brave (and often foolhardy) triumph over the straitjacket of Regency attitudes and the even more hidebound conventions of Islamic society. … Ellis has unearthed startling new aspects of this remarkable woman’s life, such as Hester’s relationships with no fewer than three Napoleonic spies. Ellis’s enthusiasm for her heroine makes “Star Of The Morning” a fascinating study with some trenchant points about the position of strong-minded women in male-dominated societies.’ Barry Forshaw, Daily Express

‘An intense and readable biography…the exploits of headstrong proto-feminists in alien cultures make for good copy and perhaps, a good film. Ellis writes clearly and objectively…and refuses to be swayed by her subject’s emotional excesses…she is excellent on historical detail, particularly the interplay between international and local politics around the Mediterranean.’ Andrew Lycett, Literary Review

‘“Star of the Morning” tells a rattling good story well’ Sunday Times

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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

A terrific biography and thoroughly researched! 18 Aug 2008

By J. A. Bartle

Format:Hardcover

I've just read this biography, which I think is quite outstanding! Although I'd read earlier biographies of Lady Hester,including the one by Lorna Gibb a couple of years ago, I had no idea there was so much more to her life - there is much new material here. This is a vastly superior biography, and the author, although her research has evidently been scholarly, writes very well, in a very readable way that moves you forward with the action of the story. I was fascinated to know all sorts of things, for example that Lady Hester had been a swordswoman, had lived with the Yezidi and had studied Sufism with masters in Tripoli, and also all the in-depth detail about her relationship with the French spy, Yves Vincent Boutin - and the amazing details about her own espionage activities. This book also manages to bring both the Regency world of London and the 19th century Middle East very vividly to life. It describes exactly how the Bedouin came to revere Lady Stanhope, and why. Fascinating stuff! I came away feeling I'd plunged into a very real world and got to know many of the larger-than-life leading characters. I cannot recommend this book too highly, it's the biography Lady Hester Stanhope deserves, the best yet! It would make a great movie!

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

So much knowledge, but SO confusing! 7 Jan 2011

By Thoughtful reader

I approached the subject of this biography with no prior knowledge of the subject, Hester Stanhope (HS), nor of the historical period. I was very curious to read about HS, having just finished reading about Gertrude Bell who achieved similar renown in the Middle East as a woman pioneer and nation builder (Iraq) almost a century later. Thus, I think I judged this biography to some degree by the standards of the other. While I feel that I understand much of the motivation of Gertrude Bell, based on citations from her own correspondence, I still feel totally in the dark about what motivated HS according to Kirsten Ellis' study, even though this also draws heavily on the subject's own prolific correspondence.

Although Ellis undertook tremendous research, sadly she remains on the outside of her subject, rarely able to penetrate the psyche of HS. Her biography is much more a recitation of facts than the exploration of a living personality. My rating of 4-stars recognizes Ellis' heroic documentary efforts but acknowledges the disappointing lack of any genuine insights.

In addition there are other shortcomings that detract from the scholarship of this work:

1. The opening chapters present the unsuspecting reader with a blizzard of names, very few of which are explicated even in the copious footnotes and endnotes. Presumably the family tree offered at the front of the book is intended to offset this blizzard. However the tree is hard to read, being loaded with names of family members who have little relevance to HS, to the exclusion of more distant relatives who later come to play key roles.

2. HS was connected to numerous members of the British Government who had an influence on her life. It would have been useful to include a diagrammatic plan of who was who in Government, so that the reader can see why HS tried to use their various positions to her own advantage.

3. The heavy involvement of HS in machinations during the Napoleonic era also demands some similar guide to key players in 19th century France and Turkey.

4. The reader is expected to recognize and understand historical terms which are not defined or explained in the text: eg. Porte, Janissary, Mamluke, the difference between a bey and an emir, and so on. Surely a few more footnotes could have been added to elucidate these and other key items?

5. The two maps in the front of the book overlap each other but even so, do not feature key names. More useful would have been a historical map of the region known as Syria, showing the domains of the various tribes and sects who became so important in the life of HS.

6. The immense detail in the last third of the book tracking HS' correspondence with members of the French, British and Turkish governments becomes overwhelming and lacks significance for the non-expert reader. Yes, we can see that HS was trying to make her place in history, but why didn't Ellis offer some editorial context to show how HS thought her efforts might actually pan out?

7. Ellis allows herself some unpardonable flights of fancy about HS' interior thoughts and supposed actions during conversations with visitors. Is this a biography or an historical novel? The borders between the two genres blur frequently to the frustration of the reader.

Overall, very good work, but could have been better with a tighter focus on explication rather than simple presentation.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Romantic - and true - epic of an extraordinary woman 24 Aug 2008

By Traveller and reader

This is a gorgeous book. It sweeps you up and takes you away first to London then to the Middle East of the late 18th and early 19th century. It's the story of an extraordinary woman, Lady Hester Stanhope, a feminist before her time. Kirsten Ellis really gets under her skin and gives you a real feeling of what she was like and what drove her. Ellis is also clearly very familiar with the Middle East, then and now. Star of the Morning reads like a novel but it's all true. The sort of book you can't stop reading yet really don't want to get the end of.