Becoming Belle by Nuala O’Connor

In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed ‘the peasant countess’ by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. ‘Becoming Belle’ is the story of the four years in between, of Belle’s rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.