The Lord Cornbury Scandal: The Politics of Reputation in British America
304
The Lord Cornbury Scandal: The Politics of Reputation in British America
304eBook
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Overview
For more than two centuries, Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury—royal governor of New York and New Jersey from 1702 to 1708—has been a despised figure, whose alleged transgressions ranged from raiding the public treasury to scandalizing his subjects by parading through the streets of New York City dressed as a woman.Now, Patricia Bonomi offers a challenging reassessment of Cornbury. She explores his life and experiences to illuminate such topics as imperial political culture; gossip, Grub Street, and the climate of slander; early modern sexual culture; and constitutional perceptions in an era of reform. In a tour de force of scholarly detective work, Bonomi also reappraises the most "conclusive" piece of evidence used to indict Cornbury—a celebrated portrait, said to represent the governor in female dress, that hangs today in the New-York Historical Society. Stripping away the many layers of "the Cornbury myth," this innovative work brings to life a fascinating man and reveals the conflicting emotions and loyalties that shaped the politics of the First British Empire."A tour de force of historical detection.—Tim Hilchey, New York Times Book Review"Bonomi's book is more than an exoneration of Cornbury. It is a case study of what she aptly calls the politics of reputation."—Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books"A fascinating, authoritative glimpse into the seamy underside of imperial politics in the late Stuart era.—Timothy D. Hall, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography"An intriguing detective story that....casts light upon the operation of political power in the past and the nature of history writing in the present.—Alan Taylor, New RepublicFor more than two centuries, Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury—royal governor of New York and New Jersey from 1702 to 1708—has been a despised figure whose alleged transgressions ranged from looting the colonial treasury to public cross dressing in New York City. Stripping away the many layers of "the Cornbury myth," Patricia Bonomi offers a challenging reassessment of this fascinating figure and of the rough and tumble political culture of the First British Empire—with its muckraking press, salacious gossip, and conflicting imperial loyalties. —>
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780807839065 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Omohundro Institute and UNC Press |
| Publication date: | 12/01/2012 |
| Series: | Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 304 |
| File size: | 6 MB |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Introduction: Under History's Carpet
The Cornbury Legend
The Underside of Opposition Politics
Moving beyond Whig History
Chapter 1. Lord Cornbury Redressed: The Governor and the Problem Portrait
Early History of the Portrait
Speculations: Expert and Otherwise
Chapter 2. Lord Cornbury in England
Youth and Marriage
Cornbury and the Glorious Revolution
Financial Doldrums
Cornbury Appointed Governor General
Return to England, 1710-1723
Chapter 3. Getting to Know Governor Cornbury
Modeling the Role of Imperial Governor
A Naval Engagement
Cornbury and the Church of England
Chapter 4. "Money's the Leading Card": Governor Cornbury and Imperial Finance
Charges of Financial Corruption in New Jersey and New York
Governor Cornbury's Expense Account
Cornbury's Administration in Comparative Perspective
Patricians in the Provinces
Chapter 5. "One Tale Is Good Till Another Is Told": Gossip and Satire in Anglo-American Politics
The Politics of Conspiracy
The Rise of Grub Street
The English Gossips
Gossip and Satire in America
Chapter 6. Sex and Gender in Early Modern English Culture
The Boundaries of Sex and Gender
The Emergence of the Homosexual Community in England
Transvestism: A Clinical View
Chapter 7. "'Tis Said He Dresses as a Woman": Imperial Communication, Gossip, and theSearch for Meaning
Imperial Communication in the Age of Sail
Evaluating the News
Allegations of Cross Dressing
Possible Sources of the Rumor
Chapter 8. The Politics of Reputation
War and Indian Affairs in New York
Governor and Assembly: The Balance of Power in New York
The Royal Colony of New Jersey
Political "Connexions"
A Neutral Observer Takes Cornbury's Measure
Chapter 9. An Age of Scurrility
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
Figure 1. Putative Portrait of Lord Cornbury in Women's Clothes
Figure 2. The Assaut, or Fencing Match
Figure 3. Sketch Said to Be of Lord Cornbury
Figure 4. Portrait Said to Be of Lord Cornbury at Age Nineteen
Figure 5. Mrs. General Washington Bestowing Thirteen Stripes on Britania
Figure 6. Edward Hyde, First Earl of Clarendon
Figure 7. The Duke and Duchess of York
Figure 8. A Genealogy of the Stuart and Hyde Families
Figure 9. Henry Hyde with Theodosia Capel
Figure 10. The Royal Encampment at Hounslow Heath, 1686
Figure 11. Cornbury Hall, Oxfordshire
Figure 12. The Protestant's Joy
Figure 13. The Nine Conspirators Executed for the Assassination Plot
Figure 14. William III
Figure 15. Arrested for Debt
Figure 16. Queen Anne, 1703
Figure 17. Queen Anne in the House of Lords
Figure 18. New York City—View of the Fort and Town, circa 1708
Figure 19. A South Prospect of New York, 1719-1721
Figure 20. Lewis Morris
Figure 21. A Draught of New York, 1732
Figure 22. Indian Council at Johnson Hall
Figure 23. A Whig and Tory, a Wrestling
Figure 24. The Coffeehous Mob
Figure 25. A Scene in Grub Street
Figure 26. The Maiden Granadeere
Figure 27. Works of Mr. Thomas Brown, Frontispiece
Figure 28. Queen Anne, 1711
Figure 29. Queen Anne's Bedchamber Favorites
Figure 30. The Rivalry between the Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Masham
Figure 31. The Peculations of the Duke of Marlborough
Figure 32. News of a Strumpet, Title Page
Figure 33. Androboros, Title Page
Figure 34. Royal Masquerade
Figure 35. Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier
Figure 36. Mundus Foppensis, Title Page
Figure 37. The Devil in Masquerade
Figure 38. The Suicides of Three Men
Figure 39. Two Men Dancing / Embracing / Kissing?
Figure 40. This Is Not the Thing: or, Molly Exalted
Figure 41. Henry Hyde, Future Second Earl of Clarendon
Figure 42. Richard Coote, Earl of Bellomont
Figure 43. Robert Livingston
Figure 44. Robert Hunter
What People are Saying About This
[This book] will appeal to a general audience who enjoys a good story populated with colorful characters, and more importantly, to all who are interested in the ways our histories are produced. For students of colonial America, Bonomi's mastery of the cultural and linguistic complexities of the political scene in New York and England during the turbulent decades surrounding the turn of the eighteenth century will provide ample rewards.—Journal of the History of Sexuality
[Bonomi's] engrossing investigation of a popular early American scandal gives us, first, a demonstration of deft historical detective work; second, a rich reconstruction and analysis of the crass and complex political culture of post-Stuart England; and, finally, a clear picture of the relationship between imperial policies and local, intra-colonial conflicts. . . . One of the best written accounts of provincial politics in New York and New Jersey and one of the best examples of the positive impact of the new, transatlantic perspective on colonial history.—Journal of Interdisciplinary History
A rich account of a sensational mystery, is also a splendid example of how a historian should assess evidence and, as well, how a historian should establish a context and tell a story.—American Historical Review
Offers a contrast in approach and subject matter to the most innovative work in American colonial history in recent decades, which has been written by historians concerned with communities in early America. . . . Deftly shows how changing cultural standards in England had an enormous impact on the practice of politics in the American colonies.—The Review of Politics
Historical detective writing at its best.—The Journal of American History
A telling interpretation of an important era in the development of colonial politics.—William and Mary Quarterly
Important and compelling.—Reviews in American History
A fascinating, authoritative glimpse into the seamy underside of imperial politics in the late Stuart era.—Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
A tour de force of historical detection.—New York Times Book Review
With the publication of this book, historians must now acknowledge a new Lord Cornbury, a more historically accurate personage. Employing the investigative techniques of a Sherlock Holmes, Bonomi has pieced together a plethora of evidence, which shatters the traditional characterization of Cornbury and rehabilitates his historical reputation.—New York History
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