The Grit in the Pearl: The Scandalous Life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll

Now updated from the hardcover edition, this meticulously researched and powerful biography acts as a potent lens on fame, privacy, the media, sex, power, and relationships between classes. Margaret, Duchess of Argyll (1912-1993) was an international celebrity in her youth, adored by millions. But in 1963, the year of the Profumo Affair, the 11th Duke of Argyll shocked the country when he alleged that his adulterous wife had slept with more than 80 men behind his back. He produced a set of sexually explicit Polaroids and explosive love letters. The duke won a divorce, but this had a dramatic effect on Margaret's life. On the verge of financial destitution, she was abandoned by most of her friends prior to her death in a nursing home in 1993. Lyndsy Spence tells a tragic story of the life of this fascinatingly complex woman, and shows how she fell victim to a cruel husband, harsh social mores, and an unforgiving class.