perfect weekend
This is what the trees look like in paradise. First I spent the day reading and finishing Claire Tomalin's Mrs Jordan's Profession . I loved it. I found myself thinking about the biographer easily as much as Mrs Jordan. Mrs Jordan was the mistress of William IV, and bore him ten children, living as his de facto partner for many years before he rudely got rid of her in response to the advice of his royal advisors. She was also a superb and very famous actress, both before, during and after her relationship with William (the Duke of Clarence while they were living together). She was born in 1761 and was on the stage from the age of 14. She worked through all of her pregnancies (13 live children and still more miscarriages) and was back on the stage within a month of giving birth. Tomalin, herself a very interesting woman, often draws explicit links between modern day parenting and Jordan's effective parenting and caring skills....