Within a year, Lillie Langtry was transformed from impoverishment and obscurity into being the most famous woman in England. The explanation for this change of circumstances is usually assigned to her becoming the Prince of Wales's mistress but, as Laura Beatty shows, the Jersey Lily, as she became known, was first "discovered" by artists and writers including Oscar Wilde. When the Prince decided to transfer his affections elsewhere, she was left with the problem of how to support herself and her wastrel husband and so took to the stage. She was never a great actress, more a hardy trouper, but managed to make a great deal of money by capitalising on her notoriety. The trials of a woman obliged to fend for herself in 19th-century London are admirably examined here; it is only a pity that the later part of her life, when her looks - and her admirers - had gone, is covered so hastily.