Jehanne Wake
Biographer and historian
Author of Princess Louise and Sisters of Fortune, with critical acclaim from the Sunday Times to the New York Times. Contributor to BBC radio, television and the Oxford New Dictionary of National Biography.
Jehanne Wake & Katie Wake
Forgotten women brought vividly back to life.
Mother and daughter historians writing rich, elegant biographies of power, society and the women history tried to overlook.
The Authors
Jehanne Wake & Katie Wake
A mother-and-daughter writing partnership bringing forgotten women and hidden histories vividly back to life.
Katie Wake
Historian and adviser
Read history at Bristol and Oxford. Former senior policy adviser in the British government and managing partner of an international advisory firm. This is her first book.
Featured Book
The Countess
Seduction, power and the extraordinary life of Emily Cowper
New Biography
The Countess
Seduction, power and the extraordinary life of Emily Cowper
Out Now · 25 June 2026 · Ithaka · Hardback £25 · Kindle £7.99 · Audiobook
A spellbinding biography of Emily, Countess Cowper — Regency beauty, ambitious socialite and Victorian powerbroker. Written with novelistic richness and extraordinary detail from intimate letters and journals.
Hardback ISBN 9781804183717
Praise
Early words for The Countess
“The resurrection of a remarkable woman erased from history”
Katy Hessel
author of The Story of Art Without Men
“A triumph: a richly sympathetic portrait of a fascinating aristocratic woman.”
David Kynaston
author of Tales of a New Jerusalem
“A very clever woman”
Queen Victoria
on Emily Cowper
In the Press
The Sunday Times
“No one will believe you” — attempted rape cover-up detailed for the first time in The Countess
New archival research by Jehanne Wake, featured in The Sunday Times, reveals the suppression of an attempted assault involving Lord Palmerston and one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting.
The Sunday Times · June 2026
View the press clippingSources
Explore the research
Learn more about the primary and secondary sources on which The Countess is based. For the full bibliography and endnotes, click on the links below.
Events
Meet the authors
Join Jehanne and Katie for a book talk about The Countess and forthcoming conversations about Emily Cowper, women, power and society.
Book talk2 July 2026 · 6–8pm
The Countess book talk
Hatchards, Piccadilly
187 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LE
Join Jehanne Wake and Katie Wake at Hatchards for a conversation about The Countess and the extraordinary life of Emily Cowper.
Event enquiry
Talk: The CountessWednesday, 22nd July 2026 · 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Events at Westminster Abbey
St Margaret's Church
Westminster Abbey, London SW1P 3JX
£5
Uncover the untold history of Emily Cowper, one of 19th century England's most colourful socialites and the second wife of Lord Palmerston. Join authors Jehanne and Katie Wake as they explore Emily Cowper's life and legacy using personal letters and journals to showcase her glamorous and political life for the first time. Together they will share how Emily used her political genius to guide her husband and brothers' premierships, whilst reflecting on the way women have often been confined to the fringes of our historical memory.
Please note: Access to St Margaret's Church will be facilitated via the North Green. The exact point of entry will be confirmed to ticket holders via email in the week of the event.
Book tickets via EventbriteContact
Invite Jehanne & Katie
For speaking requests, media enquiries, book events, review copies or rights enquiries, contact Jehanne and Katie by email.
Authors & events
wake.stewart@gmail.com
Bonnier Books PR
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jodie.lewis@bonnierbooks.co.uk
Bonnier Books Press
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