 | |
| Author | Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Romance novel |
| Publisher | Mills & Boon |
| Pages | 560 |
| ISBN | 978-0-00-838360-2 |
Her Heart for a Compass is a 2021 romance novel by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. The novel is a semi-fictional story about the Duchess's great-great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott. [1]
"Heavens, do you not regret anything you've done?" asks the Duchess. It's a spring afternoon in England, and perched in a corner of Royal Lodge, the sprawling cottage orné built in 1662 that was once inhabited by King George IV.
Margaret's hair is frequently featured, it's variously a "rebellious red mop", a "sodden mass of rebellious curls", a "scarlet flag, wild curls whipping around her face", and "burnished autumn leaves".
Drawing on many parallels from the authors life for the historical tale, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott was pictured in a Victorian-style floor-length outfit, complete with high-necked blouse, jacket and gloves, sitting on a stone bench gazing at a compass she held out in front of her, the Lady – although her family, the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, were close friends with the Queen and the Prince Consort, the Duke's ex-wife and the Queen's former in-law – struggled to come to terms with the rigorous disciplines of royal life after marrying, and that their second daughter, Margaret, was a redhead with a birthday "within a few days" of her own.
The real details of Margaret's own life are scant; described in gossip rags as a "Titian-haired breath of fresh Scotch air", was "15 years in the making". Beginning when she discovered romance, her heroine's 'rebellious' red hair is much more of a feature, that depicts her as a woman who is initially the toast of London in the Duchess' historical novel, than sex. The Fleet Street papers initially loved her raunchy edge but eventually decided it was more vulgar than charming. "It was always that I was portrayed as the sinner," she says.
When one act of rebellion costs Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott her place in society, her life is swept onto a new course. One that will test her courage and resilience
She speaks with a sense of detachment about the reckless of yore, whose last major publicity push, just over a decade ago, came after the admittedly profligate royal was caught promising a reporter disguised as a sheik access to the Prince in exchange for £500 told her, "I think you probably are the woman in the world who has had more bad front pages than any other," which is saying something, she still has to have her hair done to talk to you, but she's now not so vocal.
The Lady, who has previously written her roman à clef memoirs, holding passion for historical strong women. While initially submitting to the strictures of high society and the tribulations of the marriage market, she endures a pasting from the press before emerging triumphant, throwing off the weight of expectations to become her true self. Proud to bring her personal brand to the world, sweeps the reader from the drawing rooms of Victoria's court and the grand country houses of Scotland and Ireland, where she was cast out from the royals amid her scandal, and fell deeply into debt to the slums of London, and then the mercantile bustle of 1870s New York.
Margaret embarks on a journey of self-discovery where she will meet like-minded, and equally spirited, companions who shape her world.
She once confessed: "I was hopeless from the start… they could never make me the perfect princess", it follows the Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, "who desires to break the mould, follow her internal compass – her heart – and discover her raison d'être – falling in love along the way". She is a spirited, Titian-haired, freckled beauty, whose curls just won't quit. But as she navigates the challenges of forging her own path in life, will she find the greatest courage of all, to follow her heart against all odds…?
That "I have thrown my voice into each line and I'm very proud", while it was said that "right from the start it was clear she wasn't going to be sitting in the back seat on this… She had a clear vision for what the story was that she wanted to tell, and she wanted to be involved in every stage of the process."
The novel veers around somewhat in tone, from archaic – Margaret's priest informs her that "you cannot have imagined I would have kissed you in such a manner unless my intentions were honourable" and one admirer opines: "She was very naive but, by heavens, she had real spirit, too, no one could doubt that."
The lack of sex, is "in deference to historical sexual mores", a reason that doesn't usually stop promising this will change in her second novel. "I decided I would remove bodice-ripping from this book, number one. But I'm now on book number two with Marguerite … and I have got a real bodice-ripping coming for you, just a walk in the park," however, the duchess – spirited, Titian-haired, unconventional – is just "teasing".
Well-researched, and a glimpse into the strictures of life as a pampered, rich, upper-class woman. It wears its research lightly, with intriguing forays into topics such as Victorian bathing dresses, and the Queen's predilection to "pour her tea from one cup to another until it was adequately cooled". Margaret realising that she doesn't need to "conform to the rules set down by society", that a Buccleuch woman doesn't need a strategic marriage, and that her despairing cry, "no one seems to care that underneath I'm an actual person", isn't altogether true.
She's notably svelte, smartly turned out, her red hair freshly styled — perhaps a reaction to the decades of scrutiny she has experienced as a British tabloid fixture.
The publishing rights were acquired by Mills & Boon. [2] The book is published by William Morrow and Company in the United States. [3] Ferguson worked with Scottish romance author Marguerite Kaye on the novel. [4]
The novel placed 10th in the United Kingdom's hardback fiction bestsellers chart, after selling 1,079 copies in the week ending 14 August 2021. [5] In the novel's first week it sold 1,241 hardback copies. [5]
Critical reception of the novel was generally mixed. [6] The review aggregator website Book Marks collected 5 reviews on the book, 2 of which were classified as "rave", 1 was classified as "positive", 1 as "mixed", and 1 as "pan". [7] The Times 's Sarah Ditum called the novel a "thinly veiled wish fulfilment fantasy" that "is more slog than seduction" and rated it two out of five stars. [8] The Daily Telegraph 's Hannah Betts described the novel as "underwhelming" and also rated it two out of five stars. [9] The Guardian 's Alison Flood praised the work as "chaste good fun". [10] The Independent 's Roisin O'Connor rated the novel three out of five stars. [11] The Evening Standard 's Melanie McDonagh recalled the novel as "amiable tosh" and "a perfect example of the genre". [12]
Sarah, Duchess of York, also known by the nickname Fergie, is a member of the British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles III.
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the mother of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Major Ronald Ivor Ferguson was a polo manager, initially to the Duke of Edinburgh and later, for many years, to then Charles, Prince of Wales. His daughter, Sarah, Duchess of York, is the former wife of the Duke of York. He was the maternal grandfather of princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Louisa Jane Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry was the daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn. In 1884, she became the Duchess of Buccleuch and Duchess of Queensberry, the wife of William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch and 8th Duke of Queensberry. She was the paternal grandmother of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and of Marian Louisa, Lady Elmhirst, as well as a maternal great-grandmother of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and a great-great-grandmother of Sarah, Duchess of York.
Charlotte Anne Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, VA was a British peeress. A daughter of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath, Charlotte married Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch in 1829. They had seven children, including William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch; Henry Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu; and the Royal Navy admiral Lord Charles Montagu Douglas Scott.
The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery, the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota of attendance of the ladies-in-waiting on the queen, along with various duties at state ceremonies. In modern times, the mistress of the robes was almost always a duchess. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this role often overlapped with or was replaced as first lady of the bedchamber.
Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch and 5th Duke of Queensberry KG FRSE was a Scottish nobleman and long-time friend of Sir Walter Scott. He is the paternal 3rd great-grandfather of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and the maternal 4th great-grandfather of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Charles William Henry Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch and 6th Duke of Queensberry, KT, styled Earl of Dalkeith until 1812, was a British landowner, amateur cricketer and Tory politician.
Clan Douglas is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands.
William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch and 8th Duke of Queensberry, was a Scottish Member of Parliament and peer. He was the paternal grandfather of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and the maternal great-grandfather of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
(Vreda Esther) Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, was the elder of the two daughters of Major William Frank Lascelles and Lady Sybil Evelyn de Vere Beauclerk, daughter of William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans.
Donald Cameron of Lochiel was a British Conservative politician, diplomat and courtier. He was an ambassador of the Elgin embassy to China and later sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1885 and served as Lord Lieutenant of Inverness from 1887. Cameron was Groom-in-Waiting for Queen Victoria between 1874 and 1880.
Marian Louisa, Lady Elmhirst was the first daughter born to Lord Herbert Montagu Douglas Scott and Marie Edwards. She was the paternal grandmother of Sarah, Duchess of York, and the maternal great-grandmother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York.
John Charles Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and 9th Duke of Queensberry,, styled The Honourable John Montagu Douglas Scott until 1884, Lord John Montagu Douglas Scott between 1884 and 1886 and Earl of Dalkeith until 1914 was a British Member of Parliament and peer.
Jane Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry was a British duchess and model. She was a fashion model for Norman Hartnell before marrying John Scott, Earl of Dalkeith, the future 9th Duke of Buccleuch and 11th Duke of Queensberry.
Eildon Hall, near St Boswells, Roxburghshire, is one of the houses belonging to the Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensbury. It is located at the foot of Eildon Hill, just south of the town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders. Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester is very descriptive of Eildon Hall, her childhood home, in her memoirs. She describes it as a "Georgian house with Victorian additions, made from the local coral pink sandstone," and "standing 600 feet above sea level." She also describes the view from the house as a "wonderful view of the valley below stretching away to the Cheviots thirty miles distant."
Elizabeth Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, formerly Lady Elizabeth Montagu, was the wife of Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch.
The wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott took place on Wednesday, 6 November 1935, in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. A larger public ceremony had been planned for Westminster Abbey, but plans were scaled back after the bride's father, the 7th Duke of Buccleuch, died of cancer on 19 October.
Henry James Montagu-Scott, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton
Lady Margaret Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott was a Scottish aristocrat. She married Donald Cameron, 24 Lochiel.
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