The Grit in the Pearl: The Scandalous Life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll (The shocking true story behind A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany)

Margaret, Duchess Of Argyll's Life Was One Of Complexity And Controversy. Born Ethel Margaret Whigham, The Only Child Of A Scottish Self-made Millionaire And A Beautiful High-society Woman, Her Childhood Was Rich And Splendid But Empty. She Was A Daddy's Girl With An Absent Father, Living With A Jealous Mother Who Sought To Remind Margaret Of Her Every Shortcoming. As She Grew Up, Her Name Was A Byword For Class And Beauty; She Was The Debutante Of Her Coming-out Year, And Her Marriage To Charles Sweeny Literally Stopped Traffic. But It Was Not To Last: Margaret Needed More. What Followed Was A Story Of Tragedy, Scandal And Heartbreak As Margaret Swung From Lover To Lover, Society To Society. This Culminated In Her Notorious Divorce Case Of 1963, Where Her Soon-to-be-ex-husband Produced His Pièce De Résistance: A Polaroid Of Her In A Compromising Position With Two Other Men. Careless People -- An English Girlhood -- The Season -- Fate -- Mrs Sweeny -- Idols Of Consumption -- War -- The Golden Age -- Crowning Mistake -- The Duchess -- Cat And Mouse -- Slipstream -- Treachery -- 'here Comes A Brand New Woman' -- Old Foe. Lyndsy Spence. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 232-250) And Index.