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The Smart: The True Story of Margaret Caroline Rudd and the Unfortunate Perreau Brothers Paperback – February 1, 2002

by Sarah Bakewell (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
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The Smart is a true drama of eighteenth-century life with a mercurial, mysterious heroine. Caroline is a young Irishwoman who runs off to London and slides into a glamorous life as a high-class prostitute. In the early 1770s, she becomes involved with the intriguing Perreau twins. They begin forging bonds, living in increasing luxury until everything collapses like a house of cards. A brilliantly researched and evocative history, The Smart is full of the life of London streets, and shot through with enduring themes—sex, money, death and fame.
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  1. Print length
    321 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Random House UK
  4. Publication date
    February 1, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0099286637
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0099286639
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fascinating story in the shady life and scandalous times of Caroline Rudd... gripping reading.” – Daily Telegraph

“Sarah Bakewell has written a scholarly biography that reads like a detective novel with a historical setting... full of sharp pen-portraits, lively asides and quirky details... every bit as colourful and enjoyable as the title suggests.” – Independent

From the Inside Flap

on the verge of war with America, yet foreign affairs were far from the thoughts of Londoners, spellbound by the proceedings of two spectacular trials, one involving a strange pair of twins, and the other an elegant young woman. Caroline Rudd had left Ireland for London where she came to enjoy a glamorous life as a high-class prostitute. Her mesmerizing charisma attracted the identical but opposite Perreau twins one a sober merchant, the other a raffish gambler. Caroline and the twins forged bonds and lived in luxury until everything collapsed like a house of cards and charges of forgery were laid. Meticulously researched, this evocative history brilliantly bridges the gap between aristocracy and underworld, as eighteenth-century society is drawn into the most scandalous financial smart of the age.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House UK (February 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0099286637
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099286639
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the author

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Sarah Bakewell

Sarah Bakewell

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Sarah Bakewell was born in Bournemouth on the English south coast, but spent most of her childhood in Sydney, Australia, after several years travelling the hippie trail through Asia with her parents. Returning to Britain, she studied philosophy at the University of Essex and worked as a curator of early printed books at London’s Wellcome Library for ten years before devoting herself to full-time writing in 2002. She now lives mostly in London, and teaches Creative Writing at Kellogg College, Oxford.

Her four books are all biographical, and the most recent two, 'How to Live: a life of Montaigne' and 'At the Existentialist Cafe', also explore philosophical ideas. 'How to Live' won the Duff Cooper Prize and the U.S. National Book Critics' Circle Award for Biography, and 'At the Existentialist Cafe' was chosen in 2016 as one of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
21 global ratings

Top review from the United States

orbisdeo
4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly…
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
A thoroughly intriguing and enjoyable read. The subject and Ms. Bakewell’s writing are captivating from start to finish- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫, to be sure.
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Top reviews from other countries

James Brydon
5.0 out of 5 stars A dazzling and entertaining account of an amazing and resourceful woman making her way in eighteenth century society.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
I am amazed that Sarah Bakewell isn’t more widely known. So far this year I have been utterly enchanted by her ‘At the Existentialist Café’, an account of the conversion to existentialism of Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and their circle, and ‘How to Live’, her biography of Michel de Montaigne and exegesis of his ‘Essays’. She has that happy gift of writing books that are both highly informative and deeply researched yet also immediately accessible and entertaining.

Her first book, ‘The Smart’, is just as accomplished as those others, and recounts the life of an extraordinary woman about whom, I am now ashamed to confess, I previously knew nothing. Margaret Caroline Rudd was an adventuress of particular acclaim. Having been born in modest circumstances in eighteenth century Ireland, and orphaned early in life, she escaped penury through marriage and concerted opportunism, coming to establish herself on the social scene in Georgian London.

Living on her wits (and not reluctant to deploy her considerable physical and social charms), and associating herself in turn with a succession of morally dubious men, she managed to survive in London. At hew lowest ebb she turned to street prostitution, but was able to pull herself up and establish herself as a highly desirable courtesan, in which role she derived considerable fortunes from vulnerable and naïve gentlemen associates.

Such a career might not distinguish her from many other ambitious and resourceful women who had to make their way in a life that was so iniquitously designed in men’s favour. Her claim to fame, or rather infamy, rests in her skill as a forger and her imaginative exploitation of the men with whom she lived, and her ability to capitalise on loopholes in the newly established system of financial bonds and promissory notes. With her confederates in this ploy, the identical Perreau twins, Robert and Daniel (the latter of whom was her common-law husband), she devised a means of living in extraordinary luxury, though the fragility of this wealth would eventually emerge, with the three of them continually having to pass off new bonds to pay off the approaching debts of previous ones. They were, in effect employing an early iteration of a Ponzi scheme, founded on forged certificates, that snowballed beyond their control. It became merely a question of when, rather than if, they would be exposed.

But when disaster struck, and they were called to account for the validity or otherwise of the bonds they had passed, the story goes off on a wholly new tangent, with Ms Rudd demonstrating further depth of resource and spirit.

The book reads almost like a detective story, offering fascinating insights into the financial and social history of the late eighteenth century. Bakewell writes with great clarity, captivating the reader from the opening paragraphs. I feel that there is a television adaptation simply crying out to be made from this book.
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B. Cassells
5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2022
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Great story, well told that held my interest. Written in a very readable style, extremely well researched, a fascinating read.
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D Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars I would happily use this seller again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2017
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A curious book about my ancestors. Item as described and arrived by stated date. I would happily use this seller again.
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Honest Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
Fascinating tale of intrigue and fraud in the eighteenth century which is well researched and well written.

Not at all dry or long winded.

Flows well and easily read.

Highly recommended.
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