{"product_id":"2940013680920","title":"Patriotic Lady","description":"It has been impossible to write this study of Emma, Lady Hamilton,\u003cbr\u003ewithout touching upon subjects which are extremely controversial. It is\u003cbr\u003enot within the scope of this book, however, to attempt to revive disputes\u003cbr\u003eand arguments which have long since been worn threadbare, and which\u003cbr\u003econcern not so much matters of fact as matters of opinion. Many writers\u003cbr\u003ewho have dealt with the career of Emma, Lady Hamilton, have set\u003cbr\u003ethemselves the task, not of discovering the truth, but of making out a\u003cbr\u003ecase according to personal prejudice. The works given in the bibliography\u003cbr\u003eat the end of this volume cover the whole range of opinions held, and\u003cbr\u003ejudgments given, by Italian, French, Austrian and English writers on the\u003cbr\u003eend of the Revolution in Naples in 1799. Any reader who doubts the\u003cbr\u003eaccuracy or fairness of the present writer's version of this event is\u003cbr\u003ereferred to the works of these authorities, all of which are easily\u003cbr\u003eprocurable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt must be added, however, that these writers differ considerably in\u003cbr\u003etheir points of view and their knowledge, are often confused by passion,\u003cbr\u003eor are deliberately inaccurate through prejudice; therefore all, or\u003cbr\u003enearly all, the evidence must be read, if an impartial judgment is to be\u003cbr\u003eformed on matters that have caused such bitter emotions and such fierce\u003cbr\u003edifferences of opinion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is useless, for instance, to read _Nelson and the Neapolitan\u003cbr\u003eJacobins_ by H. C. Gutheridge, without reading _Lady Hamilton et la\u003cbr\u003eRévolution de Naples_ by Joseph Turquan and Jules d'Auriac, in which\u003cbr\u003ethe English author's points are carefully dealt with, and his arguments\u003cbr\u003eoften refuted. Further, it is impossible to understand the situation and\u003cbr\u003esentiments of the Patriots of Naples and the Italian point of view\u003cbr\u003ewithout being acquainted with the Jacobins' own statements and the\u003cbr\u003eopinions of Italian historians, which may be found embodied in the\u003cbr\u003ewritings of Vincenzo Cuoco, Francesco Lomanaco, Carlo Botta, P. Colletta,\u003cbr\u003eand G. M. Arrighi, and in those of two modern Italian scholars of the\u003cbr\u003efirst rank, who have made impartial and patient researches into the\u003cbr\u003ehistory of the _Novantanove_; Benedetto Croce and Pasquale Villari.\u003cbr\u003eThe latter, in his _Nelson, Caracciolo, la Rivoluzione di Napoli_,\u003cbr\u003epublished in _Discussioni critiche Discorsi_, gives a masterly\u003cbr\u003esumming up of the whole controversy and of the works of all the writers\u003cbr\u003ewho have discussed the questions raised by the part played by the English\u003cbr\u003ein the Bourbon reaction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnother cool and detached account of the affair is given by Professor\u003cbr\u003eHuefer in his article _La fin de la Republique Napolitaine_,\u003cbr\u003epublished in Nos. 83-84 of _La Revue Historique de Paris_, and a\u003cbr\u003euseful book is that published under the same title as Professor Villari's\u003cbr\u003eessay, by F. Lemmi, Florence, 1898.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr. David Hannay, in his edition of Southey's _Life of Nelson_, is\u003cbr\u003econspicuous for his fairness in dealing with the Neapolitan episode,\u003cbr\u003ewhile the chapter on Caracciolo, in J. Cordy Jeafferson's _Lady\u003cbr\u003eHamilton and Lord Nelson_, may be cited as an example of the kind of\u003cbr\u003ewriting that has too often misled the English reader as to the characters\u003cbr\u003eand events of Naples in 1799.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn conclusion, some words of personal explanation may be added. As very\u003cbr\u003elittle is known of Emma Hamilton before 1782, this account of her life\u003cbr\u003ebegins in that year, and references to her early youth are given as\u003cbr\u003erumours or gossip only. It is most likely that there was much truth in\u003cbr\u003ethese tales--some such life as they indicate Amy Lyon must have led--but\u003cbr\u003ethe evidence for this part of her career is flimsy and contradictory and\u003cbr\u003emany of the well-known anecdotes of her early life rest on very doubtful\u003cbr\u003eauthority.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079650230512,"sku":"2940013680920","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013680920_p0.jpg?v=1763584303","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013680920","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}