Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours (1644–1724): daughter, consort and regent of Savoy Robert Oresko; 2. Queen Hedwig Eleonora of Sweden: dowager, builder and collector Lis Granlund; 3. Partner, matriarch and minister: Mme de Maintenon of France, clandestine consort, 1680–1715 Mark Bryant; 4. Piety and Power: the empresses-consort of the high baroque Charles W. Ingrao and Andrew L. Thomas; 5. Catherine I of Russia, consort of Peter the Great Lindsey Hughes; 6. 'Bárbara succeeds Elizabeth…': the feminisation and domestication of politics in the Spanish monarchy, 1701–1759 Charles C. Noel; 7. Queen Marie Leszczynska and faction at the French court 1725–1768 John Rogister; 8. Women and imperial politics: the Württemberg consorts 1674–1757 Peter H. Wilson; 9. Religion and the consort: two electresses of Saxony and queens of Poland (1697–1757) Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly; 10. Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach and the 'anglicisation' of the house of Hanover Andrew Hanham; 11. The hidden queen: Elizabeth Christine of Prussia and Hohernzollern queenship in the eighteenth century Thomas Biskup; 12. 'The Pallas of Stockholm': Louisa Ulrica of Prussia and the Swedish crown Marc Serge Rivière; 13. Danish absolutism and queenship: Louisa, Caroline Matilda and Juliana Maria Michael Brengsbo; 14. Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain and Electress of Hanover: northern dynasties and the northern republic of letters Clarissa Campbell Orr.

Promotional Information

A pioneering survey of court cultures 1660-1815 via the role of the queen consort.

About the Author

CLARISSA CAMPBELL ORR is senior lecturer in History, Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge.

Reviews

'... Clarissa Campbell Orr is to be congratulated on orchestrating such an illuminating and fresh perspective on the old regime'. Times Literary Supplement 'This recent comparative study on the role of a very specific figure at the European courts has tentatively broken new ground in both its approach and its subject matter. Its breadth and scope of enquiry is admirable ... the volume does have popular appeal ... This is not to detract from the academic merit of the work, indeed its ability to convey clear and concise introductions to the monarchies, and to the individuals chosen, merely provides a lucid foundation on which many of the articles construct their arguments. ... In all the work achieves its goals commendably providing an insightful and detailed analysis of the role of the consort, both helpful to the advanced scholar and accessible to those with a lay interest in the role of women in early modern Europe.' The History Review, XV