Lady Worsley’s Whim by Hallie Rubenhold (2008) is an account of the 1782 Criminal Conversation trial involving George Bisset, his lover Lady Seymour Worsley and her husband Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet Worsley of Appuldercombe.
Produced by BBC Radio 4 – Book at Bedtime. Rosamunde Pike reads from Hallie Rubenhold’s account of the marriage of Sir Richard and Lady Worsley, the details of whose private life scandalised 18th-century society when revealed in court (abridged).
Part One – The Heir of Appuldurcombe.
The trial of George Bisset was one of the most sensational legal suits of the 18th century.
Part Two – The Escape
Lady Seymour Worsley and her lover Captain Bisset elope to London.
Part Three – Worsley v Bisset
The trial of George Bisset plays to a packed house.
Part Four – The Aftermath
Lady Worsley celebrates her court victory and continues to publicly humiliate Sir Richard.
Part Five – The Denouement
Having given birth to Bisset’s child, Lady Worsley flees to Paris to escape her creditors.
