{"title":"Hugh Tours","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"life-and-letters-of-emma-hamilton-book-hugh-tours-9781526770431","title":"The Life and Letters of Emma Hamilton","description":"Emma, Lady Hamilton, rose from poverty to become a media celebrity, and her relationship with Admiral Nelson, and her renowned beauty, made her the most instantly-recognisable woman of her era, with the press following her every move. She was a friend of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples, longed-after by the Prince of Wales, and was a high society fashion icon.  Born in 1765, Emma was the daughter of the village blacksmith in Neston, Cheshire, who died just two months later, leaving the family in difficult circumstances. After failing to find a permanent position locally, Emma took the stagecoach to London and the start of her remarkable journey to international fame. Emma worked for various actresses at Dury Lane theatre, before becoming a dancer, a model and, later, a hostess. Her beauty brought her to the attention of Charles Grenville, the second son of the Earl of Warwick, who took her as his mistress, and became the model for the painter George Romney. These paintings thrust Emma into the social spotlight and she soon became London's top celebrity.  When Grenville needed to find a rich wife, Emma was passed onto Sir William Hamilton, British Envoy to Naples. The couple fell in love and were married in September 1791. When in Naples, Lady Hamilton, as she now was, became a close friend of Queen Maria Carolina, sister of Marie Antoinette. It was also in Naples that she met Admiral Nelson - and the great love affair began.  Much has been written about this later period of her life, but with Hugh Tours making full use of the letters Emma wrote as well as those she received throughout her life, the fascinating story of her early years is also revealed. This is history as moving as a great tragic novel; most moving of all, being the return, after Trafalgar, of Emma's last letter to Nelson, unopened.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49569489027345,"sku":"GOR010694543","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49736030716177,"sku":"NGR9781526770431","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51223032529169,"sku":"GOR010548317","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526770431.jpg?v=1751055246"},{"product_id":"the-life-and-letters-of-emma-hamilton-rare-book-hugh-tours-1628685786tmb","title":"The Life and Letters of Emma Hamilton","description":"1963. No Edition Remarks. 288 pages. This is an ex-Library book. Laminated blue jacket over cloth. Black and white illustrated frontispiece. Expected library inserts, stamps and inscriptions. Binding","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50069651063057,"sku":"1628685786TMB","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1628685786TMB_1.jpg?v=1722867690"},{"product_id":"the-life-and-letters-of-emma-hamilton-rare-book-hugh-tours-1634543269bdo","title":"The Life and Letters of Emma Hamilton","description":"1963. No Edition Stated. 288 pages. Blue dust jacket over blue cloth. Publisher's archive copy with stamps. Pages remain bright and clear with light tanning to edges. Binding is firm. Occasional thumb","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50070542188817,"sku":"1634543269BDO","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1634543269BDO_1.jpg?v=1722870301"},{"product_id":"parry-thomas-book-hugh-tours-9781526759221","title":"Parry Thomas","description":"John Godfrey Parry Thomas - J.G Thomas - was by any standards an extraordinary man, in both life and in his tragic death. From a conventional upbringing as the son of the curate of Rhosddu in Wales in 1884, he became a prominent figure in the developing world of high-speed motor car racing and design.He became the chief engineer at Leyland Motors, a company whose main products were commercial vehicles. But J.G. Thomas was more interested in swifter vehicles and in 1920, along with his assistant Reid Railton, he designed the Leyland Eight, a luxury car which bristled with novel features, such as torsion springs, anti-roll bars and vacuum-assisted brakes.It was experience of driving this car around Brooklands race track that persuaded him to give up his career with Leyland to become a full-time motor-racing driver and engineer. In the Leyland Eight, Thomas achieved some success, winning thirty-eight races in five seasons and setting numerous records, including World's Ten Mile record at 114.84 m.p.h., and, in 1924, the Montihery Lap Record of 132.5 m.p.h.Thomas continued to develop ever-faster cars and eventually he turned his attention to the land speed record. He acquired the 27-litre Liberty-engine Higham 'Special' and after remodeling it and renaming it Babs, on 28 April 1926 at Pendine Sands, Wales, he achieved a speed of more than 170 m.p.h., breaking Colin Campbell's record by almost 20 m.p.h.The following year, Campbell retook the record, which drove Thomas to attempt to regain his title, once again at Pendine Sands. On 3 March 1927, Babs crashed, and Thomas was killed. Thomas was buried at Byfleet in Surrey and Babs was interred in the dunes at Pendine Sands.This biography by Hugh Tours, includes thirty-six photographs and drawings, with an additional chapter in this new edition which details the recovery and restoration of Babs.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50200266637585,"sku":"GOR012771581","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51224660312337,"sku":"GOR013111652","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526759225.jpg?v=1751307933"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-hugh-tours.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}