Georgette Hyer? Bridgerton? The fictions are not half so fascinating as the real life of Emily Cowper – the countess whose intelligence, ambition and seductive power helped make - and break - governments.

Join authors Jehanne Wake and Katie Wake celebrating publication of their riveting account of Emily’s like, The Countess, at The Star Inn, Alfriston on 22 November.

Emily was rich and beautiful and smart and ambitious. Her marriage was apparently happy, and advantageous; her husband countenanced a lifelong affair to a politician who - thanks to Emily’s help and advice - became Prime Minister.

Political machinations cross with society gatherings; international relations and national policies alike are formed; love and sex and scandal intertwine with politics – and in the midst of it all is Emily, whose remarkable acuity helped change the course of history.

Living in the highest society circles was not without dangers; the rise and fall of reputations could change with a dance or an invitation issued - or withheld. Emily risked everything, and some of her closest friends fell from grace because of their affairs with rakes (Lord Byron - we’re looking at you).

Jehanne and Katie have produced a remarkable portrait not only of a fascinating woman, but also of an inflection point in English politics and history.

A triumph -- David Kynaston'

Lively and informativ' -- Miranda Seymour

The resurrection of a remarkable woman erased from history -- Katy Hessel

Historian and biographer Jehanne Wake is author of the acclaimed Princess Louise and Sisters of Fortune. She has contributed to BBC radio, television and the Oxford New Dictionary of National Biography.

Katie Wake read history at Bristol and Oxford. A former senior policy adviser in the British government and managing partner of an international advisory firm.

Art historian Deborah Gage will be joining the authors to explore Emily’s life, starting at 4pm on Sunday 22 November.

Tickets costs £6 (we will hold a guest list, rather than issuing physical tickets). Stop in Much Ado, or click the button here to secure your place.

Copies of The Countess costing £25 are available in advance, as well as on the afternoon of the event.