The Lord Cornbury Scandal: The Politics of Reputation in British America by Patricia U. Bonomi (Author)

ISBN: 9780807824139

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Omohundro Institute and University of North Carolina Press, March 16, 1998

Hardcover, 304 pages

For more than two centuries, Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury--royal governor of New York and New Jersey from 1702 to 1708--has been a despised figure, whose alleged transgressions ranged from raiding the public treasury to scandalizing his subjects by parading through the streets of New York City dressed as a woman.
Now, Patricia Bonomi offers a challenging reassessment of Cornbury. She explores his life and experiences to illuminate such topics as imperial political culture; gossip, Grub Street, and the climate of slander; early modern sexual culture; and constitutional perceptions in an era of reform. In a tour de force of scholarly detective work, Bonomi also reappraises the most "conclusive" piece of evidence used to indict Cornbury--a celebrated portrait, said to represent the governor in female dress, that hangs today in the New-York Historical Society.
Stripping away the many layers of "the Cornbury myth," this innovative work brings to life a fascinating man and reveals the conflicting emotions and loyalties that shaped the politics of the First British Empire.