The complete history of London’s Cadogan family, gathered in one volume for the first time.

In opening the Cadogan family archives, we find multilingual spies, evangelical clergymen, watercolor artists, and society ladies who defy convention for love. We find stories of affairs, illegitimacy, duels, and gambling. There are diplomats, courtiers, and confidantes. Woven throughout is the parallel history of Chelsea, as the riverside farmland estate transformed into a visionary Georgian town, and again into the recognizable red brick of Pont Street Dutch, surviving riots and near bankruptcy to become a thriving London community. Told with affection and humor, interweaving world events and private dramas spanning a thousand years, this book brings to life the story of one family that is also the story of the British Isles.