A mixture of poignant biography and entertaining social history, Daughters of Britannia is the story of diplomatic life as it has never been told before.Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Vita Sackville-West and Lady Diana Cooper are among the well-known wives of diplomats who represented Britain in the far-flung corners of the globe.Drawing on letters, private journals and memoirs, as well as contemporary oral history, Katie Hickman explores not only the public pomp and glamour of diplomatic life, but also the most intimate, private face of this most fascinating and mysterious world. Far from leading lives of luxury and privilege, many women endured harsh, isolated circumstances which they met with remarkable resourcefulness and strength. Journeys could take many months to complete, medical facilities were often primitive or nonexistent and young children frequently died. There were wars, kidnapping, assassination attempts.Touching on the lives of nearly a hundred diplomatic wives (as well as sisters and daughters), Daughters of Britannia is a compelling account of more than three centuries of British diplomacy as seen through the eyes of some of its most intrepid but least-known participants. Read Less