Overview

"""In June 1701, a young widow, Mary Grosvenor wakes up in a hotel room in Paris and finds a man in her bed. Within hours they are married. Yet three weeks later, Mary fled to London and swore that she had never agreed to the wedding. So begins one of the most intriguing stories of madness, tragic passions and the curse of inheritance. Inheritance charts the forgotten life of Mary Grosvenor, born in London during the Great Plague of 1665, and the land that she inherited as a baby. This estate would determine the course of her tragic life. Hollis restores this history of child brides, mad heiresses, religious controversy and shady dealing. The drama culminated in a court case that determined not just the state of Mary’s legacy, but the future of London itself. Today, Mary’s inheritance is some of the most valuable real estate in the world; and her family, the Dukes of Westminster."""

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9781786079954

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Reviews

'Hollis is excellent on history...this is an imaginative book that finds a convincing new way to tell the story of one of the most written-about cities in the world.' * <i>Independent</i> on <i>The Stones of London</i> * 'A tour de force of biography, history, politics, philosophy and experimental science.' * <i>The Economist</i> on <i>The Phoenix: The Men Who Made Modern London</i> *

'Wonderful... Leo Hollis knows the expanding city like the back of his hand, and brings a forensic eye and a deep empathy to the mystery at the heart of Mary Davies's tragic life... Inheritance is a consistently enthralling read.' -- Helen Castor, author of Joan of Arc 'A fascinating insight into a tragic backwater of London's history, yet from which one of its most magnificent estates emerged...' * Simon Jenkins, author of A Short History of London * 'Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world's greatest cities. His scholarship and storytelling make the seventeenth century seem so familiar.' * Dan Snow, Death or Victory: The Battle for Quebec and the Birth of Empire * 'Leo Hollis combines meticulous research with his trademark style once again in this perceptive and humane book on one of modern London's most significant origin stories.' -- Lucy Inglis, author of Georgian London: Into the Streets 'Identifying an authentic seventeenth-century mystery, Leo Hollis uses the form of the classic detective story to deliver a fast-moving and forensic account of the birth and development of the London property market. Here is a valuable addition to the literature of the city in another period of cancerous growth.' -- Iain Sinclair, author of The Last London

'Leo Hollis combines meticulous research with his trademark style once again in this perceptive and humane book on the one of modern London's most significant origin stories.' -- Lucy Inglis, author of Georgian London: Into the Streets 'Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world's greatest cities. His scholarship and storytelling make the seventeenth century seem so familiar.' * Dan Snow * 'A fascinating insight into a tragic backwater of London's history, yet from which one of its most magnificent estates emerged...' * Simon Jenkins, author of A Short History of London * 'Wonderful... Leo Hollis knows the expanding city like the back of his hand, and brings a forensic eye and a deep empathy to the mystery at the heart of Mary Davies's tragic life... Inheritance is a consistently enthralling read.' -- Helen Castor, author of Joan of Arc

'Identifying an authentic seventeenth-century mystery, Leo Hollis uses the form of the classic detective story to deliver a fast-moving and forensic account of the birth and development of the London property market. Here is a valuable addition to the literature of the city in another period of cancerous growth.' -- Iain Sinclair, author of The Last London 'Leo Hollis combines meticulous research with his trademark style once again in this perceptive and humane book on the one of modern London's most significant origin stories.' -- Lucy Inglis, author of Georgian London: Into the Streets 'Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world's greatest cities. His scholarship and storytelling make the seventeenth century seem so familiar.' * Dan Snow * 'A fascinating insight into a tragic backwater of London's history, yet from which one of its most magnificent estates emerged...' * Simon Jenkins, author of A Short History of London * 'Wonderful... Leo Hollis knows the expanding city like the back of his hand, and brings a forensic eye and a deep empathy to the mystery at the heart of Mary Davies's tragic life... Inheritance is a consistently enthralling read.' -- Helen Castor, author of Joan of Arc

Author Information

Leo Hollis is the author of two acclaimed history books: The Phoenix: The Men Who Made Modern London, and Stones of London, as well as the international bestseller, Cities are Good for You. He speaks about the history of cities internationally and has presented TEDx talks in London and Ghent and in 2021 at the Venice Architectural Biennale. He has written for the New Statesman, Guardian, Financial Times. He lives in London and is the senior editor at Verso Books.

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