Lady Hamilton, illuminated by the early evening sun, smiled radiantly. “Horatia, my darling, but you are doing so very well. You are walking all by yourself, and so far! Good Lord Nelson will be so proud when I tell him; and I am proud too! God bless you, my darling! Come here and give me a hug.’ She held her arms wide, encouraging her to toddle further, but caught her as soon as she stumbled, and drew her in close. “Oh, you are such a clever, and very good girl!’”
Lily Style “Horatia’s Secret”
Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.
Thank you for listening in.
I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.
Lily Style, writer, historian, and genealogist, and I are once again connecting the village of South Brent in Devon, Britain and Vancouver, Canada to discuss the remarkable life and legacy of Emma, Lady Hamilton, the great love of Admiral Lord Nelson.
Lily is the direct descendant of Admiral Lord Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton. She explores the past to piece together the real human stories lying behind dry facts. She writes regularly for Nelson-related publications. Horatia’s Secret is her first historical novel. And I understand that she is currently writing her next novel, The Tailor Prince.
I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting dialogue on Tea Toast & Trivia.
A special thank you, Lily for sharing your insights, your dedication to discovering the stories that have been hidden in the folds of history.
Listeners, thank you for joining Lily and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.
I invite you to connect with Lily on her website, Lily Style, on Amazon, Goodreads, and Emma Hamilton Society.
Until next time we meet, dear friends, keep safe wherever your adventures take you.
Tea Toast & Trivia 
15 replies on “Season 4 Episode 31: Lily Style on the Love Story of Emma, Lady Hamilton & Lord Nelson”
From listening to this conversation, I can see how Emma and Lord Nelson’s story would make a compelling novel.
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I agree, Liz – Emma’s life reads like a story. The more I read about Emma, the more I admire and respect her accomplishments that have never been fully appreciated.
I came to know Lily through serendipitous events that date back to 2010, when I was having my hair cut by Franko, my hairdresser who originally came from Calabria, in southern Italy. He loved talking about Naples and said one day – “Of course, you know the story of Emma, Lady Hamilton.” Of course, I didn’t, which started me on a search of Emma’s story. Fast forward to 2013, after reading Kate Williams “England’s Mistress – The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton, I wrote a series of posts.
One of the comments that came out of the post discussions was, did Emma, Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson have grandchildren and great grandchildren. I responded that I knew they did but couldn’t locate any information on this subject. Fast forward a couple of years, I received a letter that introduced me to David and eventually to Lily.
I am thrilled that Lily joined me on TTT. I am looking forward to the next podcast, which will tell the end of Emma’s and the beginning of Horatia’s story.
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What a fascinating lead-up to your TTT interviews with Lily!
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Fascinating story! I have really enjoyed learning about Emma. So often, when we read historical events, the contributions of women are so downplayed. It is wonderful to hear her story told with so much passion all these years later.
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I am delighted that you listened in, Linda. Emma, Lady Hamilton’s story is unusual. She accomplished much during a period of uncertainty. While there are diverse opinions of her contribution and her motivations, no one can dispute her creativity and courage. She was an outlier in a society that was stratified, clinging to a status quo that was in transition. Gutenberg Press has letters of Lord Nelson to Lady Hamilton, which I am now reviewing. It is exciting to look to the past, for we understand our time in more broad terms. Lily is an extraordinary historian.
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I love having the opportunity to learn about history through an interesting story. It sounds like Lily has done a wonderful job of combining storytelling and informing her audience.
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I am delighted that you listened in to this conversation, Dan. Once I started looking into Emma, Lady Hamilton’s story, I was amazed by what she accomplished. Would Lord Nelson achieved the success he gained, without the assistance of Emma, Lady Hamilton? That is a question that many have discussed. I have read that Emma and Nelson were the power couple of the early 1800’s. I encourage you to to view The Emma Hamilton Society – it is a wealth of information.
https://www.emmahamiltonsociety.co.uk/
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Thanks Rebecca. I’ll have to take a look at that.
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Great follow-up conversation, Rebecca and Lily, about a fascinating romance that happened during a fascinating historical time. The elements of patriarchy and class and unfairness make for an even more compelling story. All those machinations, too.
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Thank you; Lily and Rebecca, for this look into an interesting story from history involving real people and their story! Thank you for including the beautiful painting of Emma (Lady Hamilton) wearing the Maltese Cross, a real treasure. The “love story” of Emma an Lord Nelson is interesting and who better to tell it than Lily! ! They were the power couple of their day! I am excited that Lilly has written a novel about this exciting time in history–I will be looking forward to reading it and the next one that she will write.
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As a lover of historical fiction and an inside peek into the lives of historical characters. I can only imagine the deep research done to write this book. I found this interview fascinating and have added Lily’s book to my reading list. Congrats to Lily! ❤
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Many thanks for listening in, Debby. As a memoirist, you would understand the complexities of writing a historical narrative/biography, better than most. I agree – sourcing the truth requires deep research, especially when there are so many thoughts and opinions on the subject matter.
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Absolutely Rebecca. I am a memorist who loves historical fiction and always admires the depths of what it takes to create a fictional story with factual events. 🙂
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Hi Rebecca, I’ve listened to this twice because the first time, I listened on my phone and then couldn’t leave a comment. I came back and thought I’d listen again. This discussion about Emma is very interesting. I didn’t even know about her although I do, of course, know the history of Nelson. It is wonderful to learn about the history from a female point of view.
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I knew you would enjoy this conversation, Robbie. Like you, I had heard about Lord Nelson, even visited his ship Victory, but I had no idea about Emma, Lady Hamilton until my Italian hairdresser told me about her. He was originally from the south of Italy and loved telling me stories about Naples. The more I know about Emma, the more fascinated I was by her life story. She was remarkable and a superstar in her time. History is rethinking her contribution. I am delighted that you listened in Robbie and share a love of history. Kindred spirits!!!
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