The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its motto "All the best stories are true", the prize covers current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. The competition is open to authors of any nationality whose work is published in the UK in English. The longlist, shortlist and winner is chosen by a panel of independent judges, which changes every year. Formerly named after English author and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, the award was renamed in 2015 after Baillie Gifford, an investment management firm and the primary sponsor. Since 2016, the annual dinner and awards ceremony has been sponsored by the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
Candaulism, or candaulesism, is a paraphilic sexual practice or fantasy in which one person exposes their partner, or images of their partner, to other people for their voyeuristic pleasure or the pleasure of their partner. Candaulism is also associated with voyeurism and exhibitionism.
Margo Lillian Jefferson is an American writer and academic.
Samuel Derrick (1724–1769) was an Irish author. He became known as a hack writer in London, where he gained wide literary connections.
Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet,, of Appuldurcombe House, Wroxall, Isle of Wight, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1801. He was a noted collector of antiquities.
Seymour Dorothy Fleming, styled Lady Worsley from 1775 to 1805, was a member of the British gentry, notable for her involvement in a high-profile criminal conversation trial.
Charlotte Hayes was a highly successful brothel keeper in early Georgian London, and the owner of some of the city's most luxurious brothels in and around King's Place, in St James's.
Jessica Rose Brown Findlay is an English actress. She played Lady Sybil Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey and Emelia Conan Doyle in the 2011 British comedy-drama feature film Albatross.
The Female Coterie was the title given to a group of "ladies of quality" in 18th century London. Horace Walpole described their activities as meeting every morning "either to play cards, chat or do whatever else they please". Dinner and supper were provided, followed by the card game loo. The founding members were Mrs Fitzroy, Lady Pembroke, Mrs Meynell, Lady Molyneux, Miss Pelham and Miss Lloyd.
Lucy Worsley is a British historian, author, curator and television presenter. She is joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known as a presenter of BBC Television and Channel 5 series on historical topics.
William Bulmer (1757–1830) was an English printer and typographer.
Harlots is a British period drama television series created by Alison Newman and Moira Buffini and inspired by The Covent Garden Ladies by British historian Hallie Rubenhold. The series focuses on Margaret Wells, who runs a brothel in 18th-century London and struggles to secure a better future for her daughters in an unpredictable environment.
Caroline Maria Graham, Duchess of Montrose was the second wife of James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose. She was a daughter of George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester, by his wife Elizabeth Dashwood.
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper is a book by British historian Hallie Rubenhold, published by Doubleday in 2019. The book examines the lives of the "canonical five", the five women largely believed to have been killed by Jack the Ripper in the Whitechapel murders. Rubenhold claims that only two of the five women, Mary Jane Kelly and Elizabeth Stride, were prostitutes. In some cases, Rubenhold claims the women may have been targeted by the Ripper just because they were sleeping rough.
Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington was a British socialite and demimondaine. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Charles II. After being blackballed by the English social group The Female Coterie, she founded The New Female Coterie, a social club of courtesans and "fallen women" that met in a brothel. Known for her infidelity and bisexuality, she was nicknamed the "Stable Yard Messalina" due to her adulterous lifestyle. Her "colourful" life is often contrasted with that of her daughter-in-law, Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, who was viewed as a respectable member of British high society.
Sudhir Hazareesingh, GCSK, is a British-Mauritian historian. He has been a fellow and Tutor in Politics at Balliol College, Oxford since 1990. Most of his work relates to modern political history from 1850; including the history of contemporary France as well as Napoleon, the Republic and Charles de Gaulle.
The Staunch Book Prize is an award given to thriller novels that avoid featuring violence to women. British writer and screenwriter Bridget Lawless founded the prize in 2018. Some writers object to the premise of the award, referring to it as a "gag order" and accusing it of censorship.
The New Female Coterie was an 18th-century London social club.
Henrietta de Hochepied, Baroness de Hochepiedc. 1745 – 1828) was an English aristocrat, socialite, and courtesan.
