Drawn to Perfection

Literature & Fiction

Owens, Victoria

Genre Fiction

Bookline and Thinker Ltd

The Life of LTC Rolt: Where Engineering Met Literature

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Pen and Sword History

<p>Disappointed in love, in 1759 Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, retreated to Lancashire to devote himself to coal and canals. When his agent, John Gilbert, introduced him to the Staffordshire Schemer James Brindley, the two men formed an unlikely alliance that would alter the face of the country.While his ingenuity and zeal chimed well with Bridgewater's ambitions, at a time when the demands of rising commerce were beginning to conflict with long-established land-owning interests, Brindley soon discovered that his association with the duke could make for friction. If being a peer's protégé carried him into the public eye, it also brought him calumny, vituperation and insult. Nevertheless, throughout his years of wealth and fame ? during which he forged an enduring friendship with potter-turned-canal promoter Josiah Wedgwood ? he remained steadfastly loyal to the patron to whom he owed his breakthrough.Drawing upon eighteenth-century letters, pamphlets, committee minutes and maps, the Bridgewater accounts books and long-lost probate inventory of Brindley's estate, this book charts the dynamics of a remarkable business relationship in a fast-changing world.</p>

James Brindley and the Duke of Bridgewater: Canal Visionaries

Historical

Amberley Publishing

<p>When impoverished aristocrat Lady Charlotte Bertie married wealthy Welsh ironmaster John Guest of Dowlais in 1833, her relatives looked on with dismay. Yet despite their vast difference of background and age, over their nineteen-year long marriage, husband and wife enjoyed great happiness and much adventure. There would be ten children and while John built up an immense commercial empire, Charlotte championed Welsh culture.Crucially, she taught herself John's business from the inside. Over the years, she made the keenest observation of iron production, the fluctuations of the trade and the engineering innovations that touched upon its developments. When John died in 1852, she was therefore uniquely well-placed to succeed him as head of the works - a remarkable position for a Victorian woman. Not only did she endeavor to introduce reforms, but also - rather to her dismay - had to weather a potentially destructive strike.But success came at a price. With her star to all sight in the ascendant, Lady Charlotte suddenly chose to abandon all, leave Wales and marry her sons' tutor. This book traces the ardent, creative years of her first marriage, explores her determination - widowed - to preserve John's legacy, and observes her growing devotion to the scholarly Charles Schreiber.</p>

Lady Charlotte Guest: The Exceptional Life of a Female Industrialist (Trailblazing Women)

Community & Culture

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Owens, Victoria. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Owens, Victoria