London, 1711. As the rich, young offspring of the city's most fashionable families þll their days with masquerade balls and clandestine court-ships, Arabella Fermor and Robert, Lord Petre, lead the pursuit of pleasure. Beautiful and vain, Arabella is a clever coquette with a large circle of beaus. Lord Petre, seventh Baron of Ingatestone, is a man-about-town with his choice of mistresses. Drawn together by an overpowering attraction, the two begin an illicit affair.
Alexander Pope, sickly and nearly penniless, is peripheral by birth, yet his uncommon wit and ambition gain him unlikely entrance into high society. Once there, privy to every nuance and drama, he is a ruthless observer. He longs for the success that will cement his place in society; all he needs is one poem grand enough to make his reputation.

As the forbidden passion between Arabella and Lord Petre deepens, an intrigue of a darker nature threatens to overtake them. Fortunes change and reputations -- even lives -- are imperiled. In the aftermath, Pope discovers the idea for a daring poem that will catapult him to fame and fortune.

Meeting a fellow bookcrosser for coffee and a chat and bringing along this wishlisted book.

A wishlist book given to me by jeniwren when we met this afternoon in Bega. Thanks, jeniwren. It's always nice to put a face to a BCName.

Very witty & cleverly done. I loved the conversations between Alexander Pope & his friends & acquaintances. Such beautiful language. The romance & scheming were a necessary part of Pope's journey towards fame, but I just wanted some more dialogue between him & one of the other lions of his age - Jonathan Swift, Robert Steele, John Gay.

Before Pope writes the poem that would make him the most famous poet in England, he travels to London where he becomes a part of the social round, observing London high-society through satirical eyes. He watches the grand love affair between Arabella Fermor & Robert Petre, & hears murmurings of a renewal of Jacobite plotting. When, through the machinations of his family, Petre is forced to renounce Arabella finally & publicly, Pope is inspired to complete his masterpiece, The Rape of the Lock, bringing him the renown he craves.

I enjoyed the interweaving of the affair, the political situation & the posturings of society with Pope's aspirations, failures & finally success. Without the first available for observation & sardonic comment, there wouldn't have come the second, more important (to Pope & his readers), event: The Rape of the Lock. I think Gee has done extremely well at evoking time, place, mores & attitudes of the time. Entertaining & historically believable.

For the 2016 Australian Women Writers Challenge.

Left in the library.

To the finder of this book,
Please journal that you have caught it so I know it's in safe hands. You may remain anonymous, there is no obligation to join Bookcrossing.
Thankyou