Nicknamed "Lady M" by Byron, Elizabeth Milbanke, Viscountess Melbourne, rose above all adversity, using sex and her husband’s wealth to hold court among such glittering figures as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, the Whig leader and wit Charles James Fox, and the playwright Sheridan. Her many lovers included Lord Egremont, Turner’s wealthy patron, and the future George IV. She schemed on behalf of her children, her ambitions realized when her son became Queen Victoria’s confidant and Prime Minister. Based upon diaries, archives and extensive correspondence between Lady M and Lord Byron, Colin Brown examines the Regency period and its pre-Victorian code of morals from the perspective of a powerful and influential woman.