Re: Who was the Countess of Derby in 1630 was Brydges / Chandos scandal [?]

For those interested, I highly recommend this interesting book (see
below).

Tony Hoskins
---------

A House in Gross Disorder
Sex, Law, and the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven Cynthia B. Herrup Add to
Cart 0195139259, paper, 232 pages Mar 2001, In Stock Price:$18.95 (01)


Sex, privilege, corruption, and revenge--these are elements that we
expect to find splashed across today's tabloid headlines. But 17th
century England saw a sex scandal that brought disgrace to the ruling
class and ended with the beheading of an earl. In A House in Gross
Disorder, Cynthia Herrup presents a strikingly new interpretation of the
case of the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and of the sexual and social
anxieties it cast into such bold relief. Castlehaven was convicted of
assisting in the rape of his own wife and of committing sodomy with his
servants. But more than that, he stood accused of inverting the natural
order of his household by reveling in rather than restraining the
intemperate passions of those he was expected to rule and protect.
Herrup argues that because an orderly house was considered both an
example and endorsement of aristocratic governance, the riotousness
presided over by Castlehaven was the most damning evidence against him.
Avoiding simple conclusions about guilt or innocence, Herrup focuses
instead on the fascinating legal, social and political dynamics of the
case and its subsequent retellings. In riveting prose, she reconsiders a
scandal that still speaks to contemporary anxieties about sex, good
governance, and the role of law in regulating both. Reviews
"Thoughtful, scrupulously researched.... A clearheaded and instructive
book."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post

"Cynthia Herrup's A House in Gross Disorder makes us rethink most
everything we thought we knew about the notorious 1631 `sodomy' trial of
Mervin Touchet, the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven. Beautifully written and
meticulously crafted, Herrup's study unfolds like a good detective
story."--Jean Howard, Department of English, Columbia University, and
Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender

"Cynthia Herrup's scrupulous reconstruction of the Castlehaven scandal
and its legacy is an utterly fascinating read. But it is also rich in
theoretical implications for the history of sexuality. Herrup shows how
obscure conflicts within Castlehaven's household embodied virtually all
the social and political tensions of the period, and thus how a routine
dispute over property and inheritance could quickly escalate into a
sensational trial for rape and sodomy. The nature of Castlehaven's
transgression, which subsequent retelling of the story have radically
simplified, recovers here its tantalizing ambiguity and
complexity."--David M. Halperin, author of One Hundred Years of
Homosexuality and Saint Foucalt

"This is an extraordinary tale extraordinarily well told, but told with
an ear cocked to the ways in which contemporaries themselves told and
retold it. Like the trial itself, Herrup never quite gets to the bottom
of `what really happened,' but en route to that acceptance of
indeterminacy the book sets the Castlehaven affair precisely on a number
of pressure points and fault lines in the culture and society of early
modern England. The result is a book with considerable resonance for
anyone interested in the political, legal, social, cultural, or gender
history of seventeenth-century England."--Peter Lake, Department of
History, Princeton University

"To this sorry tale of a grossly disordered household, of a weak
patriarch, loveless marriages, corrupt and venal servants, is added the
betrayal of a son, fearful of losing his inheritance, the
irregularities, if not worse, of prejudiced court and irregular trial
procedure, of predatory aristocratic relatives, and of Castlehaven's
dubious connection with Catholicism and Ireland.... It is a cautionary
tale on many levels that haunted succeeding generations; its eloquent
retelling ought now to haunt ours."--Paul Seaver, Department of History,
Stanford University
Product Details
232 pages; 8 halftones; 5-5/16 x 8; 0-19-513925-9 About the Author(s)
Cynthia Herrup is Professor of History and Law, Duke University. She is
the former editor of the Journal of British Studies and the author of
The Common Peace: Participation and the Criminal Law in 17th Century
England. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

.

Quantcast