Improbable Pioneers follows the lives of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and Georgina Gordon, Duchess of Bedford, from their very different childhoods, one in the polite circles of one of England's leading Whig families, the other in the Highlands of Scotland during the period Scotland's rediscovery of its national identity following the catastrophe of the Jacobite rebellions. It was, however, their very differences which made their unlikely marriage such a success - each opening up new worlds of interest and experiences to the other, particularly after Georgina introduced her husband to Scotland, and the people and landscapes amongst whom she had grown up.
Heavily influenced by the romantic sensibilities of their times, the couple set out to explore the expanding worlds of both science and art, becoming, in their way, improbable pioneers in new fields of politics, art and architecture, agriculture, botany and horticulture. Beyond this, Georgina shared her love for the places and people of the Highlands not just with her husband, but also with a young artist, Edwin Landseer, whose images of the Highland landscape went on to reflect and express their common romantic sensibilities and became some of the most popular paintings in British art.
This was a couple whose lives shed new light on not just the historic events of their times, but also on the sheer excitement in the air as scientists, artists, architects, botanists and horticulturalists all set out to explore the new possibilities of the Romantic age of wonder. Heavily illustrated with maps, colour and black and white images, the book follows both the public and private lives of the Duke and Duchess, whose influence, both at Woburn Abbey and in the glens of the upper Spey valley, is still alive today.
- ISBN13 9781910258255
- Publish Date 12 May 2022
- Publish Status Forthcoming
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Pimpernel Press Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 600
- Language English