Interesting--if not particularly probing--account of the Blessington-d'Orsay (B's "cupidon déchaîné") ménage, always on the periphery of Byron's Italian years. A reasonable-ish portrait of Byron, though Foulkes buys into Lady Blessington's condescension in a way Byron's many biographers seldom do. (Of course he would, relying as he does almost exclusively on Blessington's accounts of their meeting, along with a bit from Nicolson.) Apparently the author of Chillde Harold wasn't "Byronic" enough for her.... Useful for its evocation of the period (late Regency to mid-Victorian) in Europe and the U.K. Le Compte d'Orsay was basically famous for being famous--sort of a nineteenth-century Kardashian--all about fashion trend-setting and (in his prime) louche wealth. And, of course, scandalous behavior. ( )

Sub-titled "the scandalous life and escapades of Count Dorsay" you might be excused for thinking this is an expose of aristocratic life. In fact I was left wondering just what it was that could be called scandalous in a modern context although I suppose a french aristocrat being squired around the grand tour by an apparently bisexual irish lord and his wife would have raised an eyebrow or two way back then. This is a surprisingly interesting, true tale about life at the top of the money chain, set against the context of the revolutions of 1815 and 1848. It's also a moral tale: in the end, Lord Blessington the Irishman dies, his wife is trapped by the bailiffs and Count dorsay escapes to france in penury. Even then money didn't necessarily buy you everything, but it sounded like fun trying to make it so. ( )

A biography of Count Alfred d'Orsay, a dandy, soldier and celebrity in Nineteenth Century Britain and France. It's an interesting read for anyone interested in the Regency to Victorian period.
Count d'Orsay met with most of the great names of the time, Dickens, Thackery, Byron and many others, and drew them.
The book is interesting but irritatingly does not provide translations of the french quotes, and although I do understand them in a general way I'm sure there's implications I missed with not having an in depth knowledge of french. It follows Count d'Orsay's life from birth to death and sometimes doesn't get as in depth as you'd perhaps like. His life was tinged with scandal as he was closely linked to both Lord and Lady Blessinton, possibly sexually close. A few more illustrations of period dress would have been useful. The Bibliography is extensive and it's well indexed.
Nick Foulkes is quite nasty about the Irish of the period and also has a tendency to be a bit judgemental about manners and mores of the time. ( )