The British Courtesan.
A courtesan's nice sense of social gradation: " . . . 'Courtesan' means someone attached to the Court, and these women shared their affections -- or their bodies -- between their keepers. The normal arrangement was for a courtesan to look after either one royal, or two dukes or three millionaires, which shows a nice sense of social gradation. Obviously their stock-in-trade was sex, but unlike common prostitutes they usually offered their eminent lovers beauty, grace and considerable social standing. Some even played bridge well. . . ." (Riviera: The Rise and Rise of the Cote d'Azur)
(1764-1820).
Irish courtesan.
Wife of: Louis Drummond, British officer, mar 1784, sep 1789
Personal & family background.
". . . Anna Lindsay (born O'Dwyer) was the dbughter of an Irish Catholic innkeeper from Calais, but she had been supported and educated by the Duchess de Fitz-James, who was impressed with her abilities. She subsequently accepted a number of male 'protectors' to avoid poverty. . . ." (The Cambridge Companion to Constant: 191)
Persona or Character: ". . . "Chateaubriand, who frequented her at London, described her as a noble soul and intellect. Refined, elegant, clever, well-educated, and unhappy she was at thirty-seven still beautiful. . . ." (Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Stael: 243)
". . . As the result of her upbringing and the injustices she had suffered at the hands of men, Anna showed an unusual mixture of character traits: she was intelligent, well read in French and English literature; she was a devout Catholic with royalist leanings. . .; she was ambitious, passionate, sensitive, and had a strong sense of her own worth; she was also beautiful and had gained considerable sexual experience." (Benjamin Constant: A Biography: 174)
Relationship sketches.
". . . At the age of twenty, she married a British officer, Louis Drummond, with whom she had a son (in 1788), but in 1789 he abandoned Anna and returned to Scotland. She then began an eleven-year liaison with Auguste de Lamoignon, a married man with whom she had two children and spent time in London. At this moment, Anna was distanced from Lamoignon, who was patching things up with his wife, apparently for financial reasons. Anna and Constant fell deliriously in love and had an intense affair during the next six months. Constant's letters suggest that this was the most emotionally consuming and physically fulfilling relationship of his life. . . ." (The Cambridge Companion to Constant: 191)
A career too picturesque to be pictured: " . . . The career of Anna Lindsay, nee O'Dwyer, 'the last of the Ninons,' as Chateaubriand called her, is too picturesque to be related here. She passed through many hands, had even known prostitution; since 1792 she had lived with Auguste de Lamoignon, scion of an illustrious family, with whom she emigrated to London and who, after their return to Paris in 1800, thanked her for her uncounted sacrifices and devotion by refusing to make her his legal wife. (: 242-243)
Her lovers were:
A career too picturesque to be pictured: " . . . The career of Anna Lindsay, nee O'Dwyer, 'the last of the Ninons,' as Chateaubriand called her, is too picturesque to be related here. She passed through many hands, had even known prostitution; since 1792 she had lived with Auguste de Lamoignon, scion of an illustrious family, with whom she emigrated to London and who, after their return to Paris in 1800, thanked her for her uncounted sacrifices and devotion by refusing to make her his legal wife. (: 242-243)
Her lovers were:
1) Monsieur de Conflans.
Lover in 1803?.
". . . (I)n order never to return to poverty, (Anna) had accepted a number of male 'protectors', the first, a Monsieur de Conflans, described by Julie Talma as 'mediocre' in a letter to Constant of 8 July 1802. . . ." (Benjamin Constant: A Biography: 174)
2) Louis Drummond
2) Louis Drummond
Lover in 1784-1786
A British officer
" . . . Conflans was followed by a British officer, Louis Drummond, who went through a form of marriage with her when she was twenty and lived with her in Paris or two years. It was he who encouraged her to change her name to Lindsay. In 1788 she gave him a son, Charles. In 1789 Drummond abandoned her and returned to Scotland. . . ." (Benjamin Constant: A Biography: 174)
3) Auguste de Lamoignon
3) Auguste de Lamoignon
Lover in 1789-1800.
". . . Anna began an eleven-year liaison with a married man, Auguste de Lamoignon, whom Julie Talma thought 'pitiful'. Anna bore him two children, followed him to London during the Terror. . . and showed him exceptional loyalty and devotion. Her reward was to see Lamoignon later seek a rapprochement with his wife for purely financial reasons. . . ." (Benjamin Constant: A Biography: 174)
" . . . If there was a living model for the Count who keeps Ellenore, the Comte de P***, it would surely be Anna's lover and protector of her and her two children before she met Constant, August de Lamoignon, a French aristocrat whom she followed into exile in England during the Revolution. . . ." (Benjamin Constant: A Biography: 174)
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| Benjamin Constant |
Swiss-French political activist & writer
Lover in 1800-1801.
"His first attempt to break loose occurred in the autumn of 1800, when he fell violently in love with Mrs. Lindsay. . Refined, elegant, clever, well-educated, and unhappy, she was thirty-seven still beautiful. Benjamin met her at the house of his intimate friend Madame Talma, the divorced wife of the celebrated actor, who knew her from London days. It is easy to conceive how Benjamin's ideal image crystallized around Anna Lindsay: like him she had been disabused of life, and like him, she was yearning for stability and affection; her love promised sensuality and repose, the joys and peace of the womb." (Mistress to an Age: 242)
"At the same time as his intellectual friendship with Julie Talma was developing, Constant became involved in the most intensely passionate sexual liaison of his life, with Anna Lindsay. A woman of Irish origin, Anna lived in Paris on the margins of polite society in the manner of the high-class courtesans of earlier times, but the finer aspects of her character had won her society's grudging respect. She was very beautiful and, in Constant's eyes, far more 'feminine than Germaine de Stael. . . . ." (Constant: Adolphe: 222)
"Just at present his gallantries were directed toward two other ladies, one of whom was a Mrs. Lindsay whom Chateaubriand described in his Memoirs as 'Un Esprit dur,' possessing 'nobility of soul and loftiness of character.' She has not a very presentable past---the last of the Ninons, she was called by Chateaubriand, who had known her in London when, as the mistress of a distinguished emigre,she had s salon much frequented by Royalist celebrities. Barantes thought she recognized her in Constant's novel, Adolphe, and she is said to have been immensely flattered to have been taken for Ellenore, even while disclaiming the honour. Benjamin disclaimed it too, and more emphatically. 'This woman has a great deal of vanity; I never thought of her,' he wrote to Mme. Recamier." (Benjamin Constant: 222)
"At the same time as his intellectual friendship with Julie Talma was developing, Constant became involved in the most intensely passionate sexual liaison of his life, with Anna Lindsay. A woman of Irish origin, Anna lived in Paris on the margins of polite society in the manner of the high-class courtesans of earlier times, but the finer aspects of her character had won her society's grudging respect. She was very beautiful and, in Constant's eyes, far more 'feminine than Germaine de Stael. . . . ." (Constant: Adolphe: 222)
"Just at present his gallantries were directed toward two other ladies, one of whom was a Mrs. Lindsay whom Chateaubriand described in his Memoirs as 'Un Esprit dur,' possessing 'nobility of soul and loftiness of character.' She has not a very presentable past---the last of the Ninons, she was called by Chateaubriand, who had known her in London when, as the mistress of a distinguished emigre,she had s salon much frequented by Royalist celebrities. Barantes thought she recognized her in Constant's novel, Adolphe, and she is said to have been immensely flattered to have been taken for Ellenore, even while disclaiming the honour. Benjamin disclaimed it too, and more emphatically. 'This woman has a great deal of vanity; I never thought of her,' he wrote to Mme. Recamier." (Benjamin Constant: 222)
British courtesan
Daughter of: Edward Walters, a custom employee & Mary Ann Fowler.
Skittles' personal & family background.
" . . . She was born in Liverpool to a dipsomaniacal customs official and an overwrought mother who died when she was four. She somehow managed to learn all about horses. . . ." (A History Blog)
Catherine's persona.
Catherine's persona.
" . . . She was vivacious, splendidly witty and daring (being among the first to take up roller-skating in the 1880s), and was also highly cultured, intelligent and well-read." (The Northeaster Dictionary of Women's Biography: 564)
Origin of "Skittles".
Origin of "Skittles".
"A carte-de-visite portrait of Catherine Walters (1839-1920), one of the most celebrated courtesans of the nineteenth century. Born in Liverpool on 13 June 1839, the daughter of a customs official, she moved to London before her twentieth birthday. Her nickname is thought to have originated from her having briefly worked at a bowling alley during her youth. Her charms attracted a host of admirers and she was soon able to afford a fine equipage and to dress herself in perfectly cut riding habits. Her skill as a horsewoman matched her classical beauty and her daily appearances in Rotten Row drew huge crowds of sightseers. A letter written to The Times in 1862 described the fever of anticipation among the waiting admirers of a thinly-disguised Skittles: ‘Expectation is raised to its highest pitch: a handsome woman drives rapidly by in a carriage drawn by thoroughbred ponies of surpassing shape and action; the driver is attired in the pork pie hat and the Poole paletot introduced by Anonyma; but alas!, she causes no effect at all, for she is not Anonyma; she is only the Duchess of A–, the Marchioness of B–, the Countess of C–, or some other of Anonyma’s many eager imitators. The crowd, disappointed, reseat themselves, and wait. Another pony carriage succeeds – and another – with the same depressing result. At last their patience is rewarded. Anonyma and her ponies appear, and they are satisfied. She threads her way dexterously, with an unconscious air, through the throng, commented upon by the hundreds who admire and the hundreds who envy her. She pulls up her ponies to speak to an acquaintance, and her carriage is instantly surrounded by a multitude; she turns and drives back again towards Apsley-house, and then – away into the unknown world, nobody knows whither’ (The Times, 3 July 1862, pg. 12). She counted among her lovers the Marquess of Hartington (later the eighth Duke of Devonshire), whom she pursued to New York during the American Civil War; Napoléon III; and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). Catherine Walters died of a cerebral haemorrhage on 4 August 1920 at her home at 15 South Street, Mayfair. She was buried in the graveyard of the Franciscan Monastery at Crawley." (The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography)
" . . . Skittles earned her nickname by her displays of skill in a smart skittles alley in Paris. She made her debut in London in 1861, appearing at the fashionable hours in Hyde Park, riding in Rotten Row in a tightly-laced jacket and riding trousers that showed off her figure. She was instantly a success with the men about town. . . . " (Victorian Women: 225)
Lovers galore.
"She counted among her lovers Spencer Cavendish, the Marquess of Hartington (later the eighth Duke of Devonshire), whom she pursued to New York during the American Civil War; Napoléon III; and Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII}. She was also the first love of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who remained infatuated with her for the rest of his life.
" . . . She became a famous London character, enhancing her glamorous reputation by eloping to the USA with the married Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, then to Paris as mistress of the Marquess of Hartington, who paid her 2000 pounds per year. In France the young poet Wilfred Scawen Blunt fell madly in love with her and they became close lifelong friends. She is the subject of his sonnet sequence Esther (1892) and of many other love lyrics. In London the Prince of Wales attended her fashionable Sunday parties. . . ." (The Northeaster Dictionary of Women's Biography: 564)
No comment, no mistake.
"During her life as a courtesan, her discretion and loyalty to her benefactors became the focal point of her career. There were many rumours about her being involved with certain wealthy men of the time, but she never confirmed nor denied these. This gave her great weight in the courtesan lifestyle, and made her a sought after commodity. This also gave long life to her career, and helped her to retire a wealthy woman of society around 1890." (thefrenchsampler.blogspot)
". . . One of Skittles' greatest assets was her discretion: she was reputed to have had affairs with half the crowned heads of Europe, but never confirmed or denied these rumours. . . ." (City of Sin: London and Its Vices)
". . . One of Skittles' greatest assets was her discretion: she was reputed to have had affairs with half the crowned heads of Europe, but never confirmed or denied these rumours. . . ." (City of Sin: London and Its Vices)
| Achille Fould |
Skittles's lovers were:
1) Achille Fould (d.1867)
French finance minister.
Lover in 1860s to 1867.
"Catherine spent the rest of the 'Gay Sixties' in Paris. At the time the city, elaborately improved by the Imperial minister Haussmann, attracted the attention of much of fashionable Europe. Its dazzling and gilded surroundings providing the setting for a social life profligate to the point of degeneracy. Since she knew little French, Catherine gravitated towards the English colony there . . . It was in Paris that Catherine accepted the protection of Achille Fould, Napoleon's bearded and elderly minister of finance. He installed her in a sumptuous apartment in the Avenue des Champs Elysees and allowed her to make her daily excursions to the Bois de Boulogne, where she outshone on horseback many other fashionable equestriennes. She even made the acquaintance of the Emperor himself, when she was introduced to him at dinner. He said he had never heard of the game of skittles, but sportingly agreed to a competition in an adjacent room, where footmen set up nine champagne bottles to be used for the purpose: he bowled at them and knocked over two to sycophantic applause, while Catherine, who had not lost her skills, knocked over the remaining seven with a single shot. Fould, shrewd and kindly, lavished much time and money on Catherine, improving her halting French and taking her to concerts and galleries, whilst asking for little in return. He introduced her to the fashionable balls at the British Embassy. . . Catherine remained in Paris. But she was growing bored with her life there, and was spending an increasing amount of time in England, where every season she indulged in her passion of fox hunting, chiefly in Leicester. . . After the death of Fould in 1867 and the fall of Paris in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War, she never lived in France again. . . ."(Scandals in History)
2) Alexander Horatio Baillie.
Lover in 1880s.
Lover in 1880s.
"In 1872, Skittles moved to 15 South Street, Park Lane, which was to be her residence for the rest of her life. At a certain point in the 1880's, she took up with Alexander Horatio Baillie. Although she called herself Mrs. Baillie for a time, they were probably never married. . . ." (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . In the 1870s, she started calling herself Mrs. Baillie, although she never married. She 'borrowed' the name from one of her lovers, Alexander Horatio Baillie. . . ." (Scarlet Women: 170)
"As she started winding down the career, she took up with businessman Alexander Horatio Baillie (she even took his name, though without legal authority). . . ." (A History Blog)
"By the beginning of the new century Catherine Walters was an old lady. In 1901 the Queen died, and in 1910 Edward VII in his turn. All her friends were dying around her. . . About this time she began to be known as Mrs. Baillie, though whether she had actually married Alex Baillie (brother of Col. Jim Baillie i the Fernie country at Illston Grange, close to Illston-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire), as Edward had asked him to do, or whether this was a title of convenience is not precisely known. . . ." (Scandals in History)
" . . . In the 1870s, she started calling herself Mrs. Baillie, although she never married. She 'borrowed' the name from one of her lovers, Alexander Horatio Baillie. . . ." (Scarlet Women: 170)
"As she started winding down the career, she took up with businessman Alexander Horatio Baillie (she even took his name, though without legal authority). . . ." (A History Blog)
"By the beginning of the new century Catherine Walters was an old lady. In 1901 the Queen died, and in 1910 Edward VII in his turn. All her friends were dying around her. . . About this time she began to be known as Mrs. Baillie, though whether she had actually married Alex Baillie (brother of Col. Jim Baillie i the Fernie country at Illston Grange, close to Illston-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire), as Edward had asked him to do, or whether this was a title of convenience is not precisely known. . . ." (Scandals in History)
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| Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk @ NPG |
3) Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (1837-1919)
Lover in 1863-1864.
Son of: Aubrey William Beauclerk & Ida Goring.
Husband of:
1. Evelyn Georgiana Matilda Fitzroy (1841-1931) mar 1858.
2. Mrs. Katherine Lucy Tucker mar 1895.
"She counted among her lovers Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, with whom she eloped for some months to America in the second half of 1862. . . . " (Riding Aside)
"In 1863, Skittles traveled to New York with Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, but a year or so later, their relationship was over and she moved on to Paris to try her luck in the demimonde. . . ." (Scarlet Women: 170)
" . . . Hardman also passed on marriage gossip of a more conventionally scandalous nature, as for instance in November 1862: 'Skittles' has bolted with a married man, of good family. His name is Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk. . . . This wretched fool has left a charming wife, and I believe, young children. He has four thousand pounds a year, which we be even as fourpence halfpenny to such a woman. His little wife sits meekly at home, and waits his return. Hardman goes on to mention that the same beauclerk had previously jilted a fiancee on the supposed day of their wedding, for which he had been beaten up at the door of his club by the fiancee's 16-year-old brother; the 'charming wife' of the present instance eventually sued her husband for divorce. . . .'" (Reading Victoria Fiction: 54)
" . . . [In] the spa town of Ems in the Rhineland . . . she found herself pursued by another lover, Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, a rather lurid young nobleman from Northern Ireland who was already married. He insisted in leaving his long-suffering young wife and fleeing with Skittles to New York, where she found herself in the middle of the American civil war with two discarded lovers, both temperamentally totally opposed to each other. Beauclerk eventually returned to his wife with his tail between his legs, whilst Hartington came back to patch things up with his family and with the glamorous Lottie." (Scandals in History)
Aubrey's divorce case.
"This was an appeal by the petitioner in a divorce suit from a decision of Mr. Justice Butt, who dismissed the petition. . . The petition was by Evelyn Matilda Georgiana de Vere Beauclerk for the dissolution of her marriage with Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk on the ground of his adultery and cruelty. The suit was undefended. It appeared that the petitioner and the respondent were married in St. James's Church, Piccadilly, on December 1, 1858, he being at that time 23, and she 17 years old. He was a man of considerable property, and his country residence was Ardglass Castle, in the county of Down. The lady, whose maiden name was Fitzroy, was the daughter of a private gentleman in Northampton. According to the evidence adduced in support of the petition Mr. and Mrs. Beauclerk got on very well until July, 1862, when they went to Ems. A Miss Walters, who was better known as 'Skittles,' happened to be staying there at the time, and Mr. Beauclerk became smitten with her. He told Mrs. Beauclerk that he must return to England on business, and it was arranged that the petitioner should precede him to London, accompanied by her father, and meet him there. Mrs. Beauclerk and her father inquired at various hotels in London without getting any tidings of the respondent, but at length they found, at Long's Hotel, a letter for her from her husband, in which he announced to her that he had eloped with Miss Walters, begged for his wife's forgiveness, and advised her to take proceedings to relieve herself of her union with him. Having travelled about with Miss Walters for some months the respondent, in 1863, returned to this country by himself, and solicited the good offices of Mrs. Beauclerk's father to obtain her forgiveness and a renewal of co-habitation. The lady was at Cannes, and she there received her husband back, and forgave him on his promise of good conduct in future. Her father, however, insisted on the execution of a deed by which the respondent secured to the petitioner 1,000 pounds a year. In 1865, when they were living at Ardglass Castle, there was scandal in the neighbourhood respecting the relations between Mr. Beauclerk and a very young woman, who was teacher in a school for poor children. Mrs. Beauclerk charged that he committed adultery with that person; that in 1869, 1870, and 1871 he had as a mistress w woman whose Christian name was Esther, but whose full name was unknown to the petitioner; and that from 1872 down to the time of presenting the petition he was keeping a woman named Kate Tucker. Esther died on July 5, 1871, and in the obtuary column of the Times her death was inserted as that of 'Esther Beauclerk.' The petitioner and the respondent separated by deed in 1870, and under the separation deed the 1,000 pounds a year, secured by the settlement of 1863, was continued to the petitioner. They had not lived together since that time, and no proceedings had been taken by Mrs. Beauclerk till she presented her petition in this suit. Her explanation of this long delay in suing for a divorce was that she desired to give her husband an opportunity of repenting and also that she did not wish to take proceedings until she could have the opinion of her son on his reaching his majority in 1887. No cruelty in the shape of actual violence was alleged in the petition, or spoken to by any witness examined in the case; but Mr. Justice Butt was asked to come to the conclusion that the husband's immorality in living with successive mistresses, in making the petitioner acquainted with the circumstance that he was doing so, and in his neglect of her as a wife, amounted to cruelty within the meaning of section 27 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1837 (20 and 21 Vict., c85). Blanche Countess of Rosslyn, sister of the petitioner, who was examined on commission, a sister sister of the respondent's, and some medical witnesses supported the testimony of Mrs. Beauclerk herself that she had throughout her married life been of delicate health, and that her heart was affected, and that the infidelities of the respondent caused her much anguish, which was calculated to increase the ailments from which she suffered. The fact that the husband had been proved to have committed adultery as recently as 1889 was relied upon by the petitioner as reviving the previous acts of cruelty. . . ." (The Times Law Reports, Vol 7: 204)
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| Edward VII of Great Britain |
4) Edward VII of Great Britain (1841-1910)
Lover in 1870.
". . . She really was one of the greatest grandes horizontales, in a direct line of descent from Nell Gwyn, and as such it was only fitting that eventually she became the mistress of her greatest conquest, the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. . . . "(City of Sin: London and Its Vices)
"She had met Edward, Prince of Wales, before, whilst she was still in Paris, and now took up with him once more. Like him, Catherine had the common touch, sharing also his enthusiasm for fox hunting. Finally she became his lover. . . By the end of the 1860s, Gladstone was Prime Minister, and Bertie, Victoria's son, whose style of life he hated, often entertained Catherine at Marlborough House. Gladstone thoroughly disapproved, writing to the Foreign Secretary: 'To speak in general terms, the Queen is invisible and the Prince of Wales is not respected.' The seventies came and Catherine, sadly, was beginning to feel the onset of middle age. . . ." (Scandals in History)
". . . She also had a brief affair with Bertie, the Prince of Wales. After their liaison ended, the Prince also paid her an allowance, and whenever she was ill, he sent his own doctor to attend her. Once when he thought she was dying, he sent his secretary to collect and destroy 300 letters that he had sent her. . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
". . . Like Lily Langtry she was for a time the mistress f King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales and he often visited her house in South Street in the West End of London which was delightfully furnished. . . . " (From Whoredom to Evangelism)
" . . . She returned to London in 1870 and started holding regular tea parties that were attended by important men. It was at about this time that her relationship with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, began. Two of Skittle's most valuable assets were her discretion and loyalty. When she returned three hundred love letters written to her by Edward, the grateful and relieved prince rewarded her with a pension. . . ." (Scarlet Women: 170)
5) George Wentworth Fitzwilliam, Lord Fitzwilliam (1817-1874)
"She had met Edward, Prince of Wales, before, whilst she was still in Paris, and now took up with him once more. Like him, Catherine had the common touch, sharing also his enthusiasm for fox hunting. Finally she became his lover. . . By the end of the 1860s, Gladstone was Prime Minister, and Bertie, Victoria's son, whose style of life he hated, often entertained Catherine at Marlborough House. Gladstone thoroughly disapproved, writing to the Foreign Secretary: 'To speak in general terms, the Queen is invisible and the Prince of Wales is not respected.' The seventies came and Catherine, sadly, was beginning to feel the onset of middle age. . . ." (Scandals in History)
". . . She also had a brief affair with Bertie, the Prince of Wales. After their liaison ended, the Prince also paid her an allowance, and whenever she was ill, he sent his own doctor to attend her. Once when he thought she was dying, he sent his secretary to collect and destroy 300 letters that he had sent her. . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
". . . Like Lily Langtry she was for a time the mistress f King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales and he often visited her house in South Street in the West End of London which was delightfully furnished. . . . " (From Whoredom to Evangelism)
" . . . She returned to London in 1870 and started holding regular tea parties that were attended by important men. It was at about this time that her relationship with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, began. Two of Skittle's most valuable assets were her discretion and loyalty. When she returned three hundred love letters written to her by Edward, the grateful and relieved prince rewarded her with a pension. . . ." (Scarlet Women: 170)
5) George Wentworth Fitzwilliam, Lord Fitzwilliam (1817-1874)
British politician
Lover in 1855-1859?.
"Skittles escaped her poor upbringing by taking up with George, Lord Fitzwilliam when she was 16 years old. Lord Fitzwilliam set her up in London and settled 2000 pounds on her and a 300-pound annual pension when they parted. . . . " (Henry Poole)
" . . . Her exceptional beauty, which contemporary photographs catch well, coupled with her riding skills learnt at a local livery school, led her to becoming the mistress of George, Lord Fitzwilliam at the age of 16. He set her up in London and, when they parted, made her a generous settlement. Under his guidance she developed a passion for fox hunting, riding regularly with the Quorn, among England's best hunts." (The Dandy: Peacock or Enigma?)
"At sixteen she became the mistress of George, Lord Fitzwilliam, master of the Fitzwilliam hounds, but deserted him within a few years for Lord Cavendish ('Cav'), later Marquess of Hartington (Harty-Tarty) and eighth Duke of Devonshire. . . ." (Longford: 37)
" . . . It was more likely, however, the grey-blue eyes, chestnut hair, 18-inch waist that caught the eyes of George, Lord Fitzwilliam at age 16, who took her to London with a gift of 2,000 pounds as well as a 300-pound annuity. A good start in life, at least financially." (A History Blog)
"At sixteen she became the mistress of George, Lord Fitzwilliam, master of the Fitzwilliam hounds, but deserted him within a few years for Lord Cavendish ('Cav'), later Marquess of Hartington (Harty-Tarty) and eighth Duke of Devonshire. . . ." (Longford: 37)
" . . . It was more likely, however, the grey-blue eyes, chestnut hair, 18-inch waist that caught the eyes of George, Lord Fitzwilliam at age 16, who took her to London with a gift of 2,000 pounds as well as a 300-pound annuity. A good start in life, at least financially." (A History Blog)
6) Gerald de Saumarez (1859-1941)
British visual artist.
Son of: John St. Vincent de Saumarez, 3rd Baron de Saumarez & Margaret Antoinette Northey.
" . . . Bertie, meanwhile, had taken up with Lillie Langtry, and was as devoted to her as his inconstant soul would permit. Catherine shortly after met her last amour, the Hon. Gerald Le Marchant de Saumarez, who attached himself to her when he was scarcely out of Eton, and was as young and unsophisticated as the youthful Blunt had been, but in his case never as much interested in her as he was in his career. A keen soldier, he served in the Ashanti wars with the Lancers, and distinguished himself in the Boer War with the Rifles. Though over the age of military service at the time of the First World War, he dyed his hair black and saw active service in France as a gravedigger on the western front." (Scandals in History)
". . . Her final love affair was with Gerald de Saumarez, who she had first met when he was a schoolboy of 16 and she was 40. When she died at the age of 81, she left her estate to him. . . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . (She) finished off her beguine with Gerald de Saumarez, fourth son of the 3rd Baron de Saumarez (she was forty, he sixteen). It was to Gerald that she left her estate 2764 pounds and 6d to him." (A History Blog)
"Over the last few years, the Military Collection has been acquiring water-colors and drawings by Gerald Le Marchant Saumarez. This talented artist was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, in June 1859, the son of Colonel John St. Vincent Saumarez, 3rd Baron de Saumarez and Margaret Antoinette Northey. He came from a long line of Guernsey military heroes the most notable being James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (1757–1836) who was second in command to Nelson at the Battle of the Nile. Gerald himself enlisted in the 3rd Battalion of the East Kent Regiment as a Lieutenant at the age of 22 in March 1882. Although he had a very short army career of less than 2 years, he was with the Buffs in Egypt in the year he enlisted. He resigned his commission in December 1883. During the First World War, he saw service in France as a Lieutenant although by now he was fairly advanced in years. He died a bachelor in London on 16 June, 1941 aged 81 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery." (Water-colors by the Hon. Gerald Le Marchant Saumarez @brown.edu)
". . . Her final love affair was with Gerald de Saumarez, who she had first met when he was a schoolboy of 16 and she was 40. When she died at the age of 81, she left her estate to him. . . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . (She) finished off her beguine with Gerald de Saumarez, fourth son of the 3rd Baron de Saumarez (she was forty, he sixteen). It was to Gerald that she left her estate 2764 pounds and 6d to him." (A History Blog)
"Over the last few years, the Military Collection has been acquiring water-colors and drawings by Gerald Le Marchant Saumarez. This talented artist was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, in June 1859, the son of Colonel John St. Vincent Saumarez, 3rd Baron de Saumarez and Margaret Antoinette Northey. He came from a long line of Guernsey military heroes the most notable being James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (1757–1836) who was second in command to Nelson at the Battle of the Nile. Gerald himself enlisted in the 3rd Battalion of the East Kent Regiment as a Lieutenant at the age of 22 in March 1882. Although he had a very short army career of less than 2 years, he was with the Buffs in Egypt in the year he enlisted. He resigned his commission in December 1883. During the First World War, he saw service in France as a Lieutenant although by now he was fairly advanced in years. He died a bachelor in London on 16 June, 1941 aged 81 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery." (Water-colors by the Hon. Gerald Le Marchant Saumarez @brown.edu)
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| Hubert de Burgh-Canning 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde |
" . . . In 1863 she went to Paris, where she became the mistress of both Lord Hubert de Burgh and Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, both of whom were the serving in the British Embassy. . . . " (Catherine Walters (1839-1920): Champagne and Skittles)
8) Jesse James.
8) Jesse James.
"Recently a friend and I were talking about Jesse James and his affair with the stripper Skittles. The lovely and talented Hope Tarr thought we were talking about another Skittles, Catherine Walters, the last Victorian courtesan. I had totally forgotten about Skittles, probably because she was less flamboyant than some of the other Victorian courtesans. Skittles wasn't necessarily interested in being famous, unlike Cora Pearl, who seemed to court notoriety." (Scandalous Woman)
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| Napoleon III of the French |
" . . . She also had a brief affair with Bertie, the Prince of Wales. After their liaison ended, the Prince also paid her an allowance, and whenever she was ill, he sent his own doctor to attend to her. Once when he thought he was dying, he sent his private secretary to collect and destroy over 300 letters that he had sent her." (Camilla: 2012)
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| Spencer Cavendish 8th Duke of Devonshire |
" . . . Skittles was deeply loved by the young Marquis of Hartington, known as Harty Tarty. He was heir to the Duke of Devonshire, one of the richest men in England. He wanted to marry her, but was persuaded by his family that this was not possible, so he paid her an allowance of 2,000 a year for the rest of her life." (Victorian Women: 225)
"After Fitzwilliam came Spenser Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington (Harty-Tarty to his friends), eldest son of the 7th Duke of Devonshire. He liked her so much that he got her a house in Mayfair, some horses of her own, and a further annuity of 500 pounds. He also got her a tutor, presumably to smooth off any further rough edges." (A Bit of History)
"She counted among her lovers . . . Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington) later the eighth Duke of Devonshire), whom she pursued to New York during the American Civil War. . . . " (Riding Aside)
". . . In 1856, at the age of seventeen, Catherine arrived in London to seek her fortune. After five years working in the Hay Market, she met the Marquess of Hartington (later the 8th Duke of Devonshire Spencer Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington nicknamed 'Harty-Tat), an aspiring Liberal MP, who fell madly in love with her and set her up in a house in Mayfair complete with servants, carriages and an annuity of 2000 l=pounds a year." (City of Sin: London and Its Vices)
". . . At age 19, she became the mistress of Spencer Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington nicknamed 'Harty-Tarty.' He was the eldest son of one of the premiere Dukes in the kingdom, the 7th Duke of Devonshire. A shy and immature young man of 26 when they met, he was to become a major figure in the Liberal politics and was considered by many as Gladstone's natural successor. . . Her relationship with Hartington lasted about four years and seems to have been greatly affectionate on both sides. The greatest passion that she and Hartington shared, and the only one they were able to indulge in publicly together, was hunting. While her lover occupied himself with his duties in Parliament, Catherine had lessons with a governess." (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . She made the acquaintance . . . in 1862, of Spencer Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington, eldest son and heir to the seventh Duke of Devonshire. With Hartington she had a protracted and torrid affair (insofar as it was possible to be torrid with one so lumpish), driving him from the side of the beautiful Louise ('Lottie'), Duchess of Manchester, until family pressure forced him to take panicky refuge in the USA, while Skittles emigrated in the opposite direction to the spa town of Ems in the Rhineland. . . ." (Scandals in History)
". . . (H)e arranged for her to have 2,000 pounds a year from the Devonshire Estate which was acknowledged by the family as a debt of honour, for on 'Harty-Tarty's' death they decided the bounty must continue to be paid and until the death of 'Skittles' herself." (From Whoredom to Evangelism)
Affair's benefits: " . . . He liked her so much that he got her a house in Mayfair, some horses of her own, and a further annuity of 500 pounds. He also got her a tutor, presumably to smooth off any further rough edges." (Catherine Walters (1839-1920): Champagne and Skittles)
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| William Beauclerk 10th Duke of St. Albans |
11) William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St. Albans (1840-1898)
British aristocrat & politician.
Duke of St. Albans, 1849; Captain of the Yeoman of the Guard 1868; Privy Council 1869; Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire 1880
British aristocrat & politician.
Duke of St. Albans, 1849; Captain of the Yeoman of the Guard 1868; Privy Council 1869; Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire 1880
Son of: William Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St. Albans & Elizabeth Catherine Gubbins.
Husband of:
1) Lady Sybil Mary Grey (1848-1871), daughter of Sir Charles Grey mar 1867
2) Grace Bernal-Osborne (d.1926) mar 1874
" . . . She was obliged to break with Harty-Tarty for the sake of propriety and his political career and so it was off to New York for a brief fling with William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St. Albans. . . ." (A Bit of History)
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| Wilfrid Scawen-Blunt @Wikipedia |
12) Wilfrid Scawen-Blunt (1840-1922)
British diplomat & poet
Lover in 1864.
" . . . He introduced her to the fashionable balls at the British Embassy, where she met Lord Hubert de Burgh (later Earl of Clanricard) and met also a young man, very junior in the Embassy and slightly younger than herself, called Wilfrid Blunt. He was a writer of sentimental poetry and fell madly in love with her, inveigling her to spent three days and nights of passion with him in the Rue Jacob, where she -- unusually for one so level-headed -- also fell in love with him. Both agreed, however, that a marriage between them was impracticable, and though they remained thereafter in each other's thoughts, they met only briefly and occasionally thereafter. Blunt was posted to Lisbon, to Frankfurt and finally to Buenos Aires (he eventually returned to England and married Lady Anne King-Noel, grand-daughter of Lord Byron), whilst Catherine remained in Paris. . . ." (Scandals in History)
"It is certain that in Paris she took up with the young Wilfred Scawen Blunt. He fell for her hard, which was a bit awkward when his boss, the Ambassador Lord Crowley, found out about it. The Ambassador had believed that Blunt was interested in his daughter. The affair ended as hers tended to do, but Blunt was heartbroken and married Lady Anne King-Noel, basically for money and pedigree." (Catherine Walters (1839-1920): Champagne and Skittles)
"One of her many admirers was the young diplomat and poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922) who was 23 when they met. Blunt fell deeply in love with her to the point of obsession. He was not her only lover which sent him into paroxysms of jealousy. The affair ended in a public scandal when the Ambassador to Paris, Lord Crowley discovered that while Blunt had been wooing his daughter Feodore to the point of being considered her 'unofficial' fiance, he'd been off sleeping with Skittles. Despite the family's expectations, Blunt couldn't bring himself to propose. Blunt was dismissed from his position at the embassy. After their relationship ended, Blunt never loved another woman the way he loved Skittles. She was the inspiration for his narrative poem 'Esther'. . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . She was also the first love of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who remained infatuated with her for the rest of his life." (Riding Aside)
"It is certain that in Paris she took up with the young Wilfred Scawen Blunt. He fell for her hard, which was a bit awkward when his boss, the Ambassador Lord Crowley, found out about it. The Ambassador had believed that Blunt was interested in his daughter. The affair ended as hers tended to do, but Blunt was heartbroken and married Lady Anne King-Noel, basically for money and pedigree." (Catherine Walters (1839-1920): Champagne and Skittles)
"One of her many admirers was the young diplomat and poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922) who was 23 when they met. Blunt fell deeply in love with her to the point of obsession. He was not her only lover which sent him into paroxysms of jealousy. The affair ended in a public scandal when the Ambassador to Paris, Lord Crowley discovered that while Blunt had been wooing his daughter Feodore to the point of being considered her 'unofficial' fiance, he'd been off sleeping with Skittles. Despite the family's expectations, Blunt couldn't bring himself to propose. Blunt was dismissed from his position at the embassy. After their relationship ended, Blunt never loved another woman the way he loved Skittles. She was the inspiration for his narrative poem 'Esther'. . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . She was also the first love of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who remained infatuated with her for the rest of his life." (Riding Aside)
" . . . One whose identity is known for certain is the diplomat and poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who fell obsessively in love with her and was prone to jealous behavior which attracted unwanted attention; the affair ended when it was discovered by Lord Crowley, Ambassador to France and father of Blunt’s fiancée, who dismissed Blunt from his post and sent him back to England in disgrace. Though he later married Lady Anne King-Noel, daughter of Ada Lovelace, he never did get over Skittles and wrote the poem “Esther” to her thirty years later. Around that time he also began writing letters to her, and they became friends and corresponded until her death." (The Honest Courtesan)
Catherine Walters Gallery.
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| Cora Pearl French courtesan @Wikipedia |
(1835-1886)
French courtesan & royal mistress.
Daughter of: Frederick Nicholls Crouch, English cellist & composer & Lydia Pearson, English singer.
Cora's inimitable "product presentation sessions", included:
". . . She filled her bath with vintage champagne and invited her admirers to watch her at her ablutions. . . . "
". . . (S)he is said to have had herself served up, naked, on a silver salver, the piece de resistence of one of her own dinners." [Huffington Post]
"Cora Pearl was another very successful high class nineteenth-century prostitute. Certainly a young beauty, born the daughter of a minor composer, she was blessed with being socially acceptable, intelligent, witty and above all, discreet. She became mistress to a number of gentlemen while still in her teens. Among her benefactors were Prince Willem of Orange, son of King William III of the Netherlands, Prince Napoleon -- cousin to Emperor Napoleon III and Prince Achille Murat. . . ." (London: Crime, Death & Debauchery: Crime, Death & Debauchery)
The tale of Cora Pearl.
"The tale of Cora Pearl, the 'pearl from Plymouth' whose real name was Emma Crouch belongs more to the Second Empire than to the Third Republic although she lived until July 1886. She had been brought to Paris by Robert Bignell ('Bill Blinkwell' in her memoirs) of the Argylle Rooms in London and installed in the Hotel de Lille et d'Albion (223-5 rue St. Honore -- du Maurier's Robert Maurice stays there in 1856), whereupon she declined to return to London. In her heyday she was kept more or less serially by the duc de Rivoli, the duc de Morny, prince Napoleon, prince Achille Murt and prince Willem of Orange (known as 'Citron', a title conferred by the Prince of Wales at a luncheon party given by Isabella II). She also relieved an Irishman called James Whelpley of 80,000 pounds in two months. (Oscar Wilde's Elegant Republic: 319)
Cora's wealth.
" . . . By the 1860s Cora owned several houses with all the trappings of the wealthy. Just one of her accounts from a supplier in Paris reveals just one of her bills for underwear came to 18,000 pounds. . . ." (London: Crime, Death & Debauchery: Crime, Death & Debauchery)
Cora's lifestyle.
"Cora treated herself to a chateau, near Orleans, with Wilton carpets, parquet floors and black silk sheets, spending a fortune on entertaining. Famously, at one of her dinners, she served herself up naked on a large silver salver, sprinkled in parsley.
" In 1864, Pearl rented a chateau in the region of the Loiret. Known as the Chateau de Beauséjour (“beautiful sojourn”), it was a luxuriously appointed residence of stained glass windows, costly decorations and immaculately maintained interiors and grounds. Her boudoir boasted a custom-made bronze bathtub monogrammed with her intertwined initials. The château was conceived for gala entertainments. There were rarely fewer than fifteen guests at the dinner table, and the chef was instructed to spare no cost on the expenditure for food. Pearl was known for devising entertainments of an unexpected and outrageous theatricality, of which she invariably was the star attraction. On one such evening, she dared the group assembled around the dinner table “to cut into the next dish” about to be served. The meal’s next course was Cora Pearl herself, presented lying naked on a huge silver platter, sprinkled with parsley, and carried in by four large men." (Cora Pearl @Enchanted Revelries)
"At the height of her success Cora Pearl was immensely extravagant. She slept in black silk sheets, embroidered with threads of gold. She often drove out in a pale blue carriage that was lined with yellow satin, having dyed her hair blue or yellow to match. She used face powders flecked with silver or crushed pearls, and in summer she liked to go brown in the sun ‐ a fashion that was considered coarse, and practically unthinkable amongst the wealthy Parisian women." (Virtual Victorian)
Sexual expertise turned in a business.
"If Catherine the Great sought out sex because she enjoyed, Cora Pearl (1835-86) turned her sexual expertise into a business. One of the great Parisian courtesans of the 1860s (known collectively as les Grandes Horizontales), she called her succession of male friends 'a golden chain.' They weren't merely wealthy, they were prominent members of high society: Prince Wilhelm, heir to the Dutch throne; Prince Achille Murat, grandson of the king of Naples; the Duke of Rivoli; the Duke of Morny, half-brother of the emperor Napoleon III; and the emperor's cousin 'Plon-Plon,' better known as Prince Napoleon. Showered with gifts from these wealthy lovers, Cora was able to buy two houses in Paris, keep sixty horses, and amass a collection of jewelry worth more than a million francs." (The Book of the Dead)
Personal & family background.
"Emma Crouch, born in 1842 in Plymouth, England, came from a respectable middle-class family. Her father was a composer and music professor who dreamed of success in the world of light opera. Among his many children, Emma was his favorite: she was a delightful child, lively and flirtatious, with red hair and a freckled face. Her father doted on her, and promised her a brilliant future in the theater. Unfortunately, Mr. Crouch had a dark side: he was an adventurer, a gambler, and a rake, and in 1849 he abandoned his family and left for America. The Crouches were now in dire straits. Emma was told that her father had died in an accident and she was sent off to a convent. The loss of her father affected her deeply, and as the years went by she seemed lost in the past, acting as if he still doted on her." (The Art of Seduction: 59-60)
"This darling of the French nobility was actually English, formerly Eliza Crouch of Plymouth. Daughter of the cellist and conductor Frederick Nicholls Crouch and Lydia Pearson, singer, when Eliza was ten her father deserted the family and emigrated to the United States, where he reputedly fathered another twenty offspring. Eliza never saw him again. Lydia remarried and moved to Guernsey, and Eliza was sent to a convent school in Boulogne, afterward returning to London to live with her grandmother. She was just nineteen when a man in the street accosted her, gave her gin, and took advantage of her. Too ashamed to go home, and completely distrustful of men, she began to earn her living as a prostitute. . . ." (The Book of the Dead)
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
"...She was vibrant, fiercely intelligent, funny, and had a killer body, so naturally she attracted the attention of men... Aside from her apparent enthusiasm and skill in the boudoir, and her spectacular body, which was reportedly both athletic and curvy, Cora had other considerable charms. She was charismatic and funny and flamboyant... (M)any of her rich lovers weren't just attracted by her fine clothes. Her companionship was much sought after. She was fun to be with, attentive, and witty. Biographer Baroness von Hutten wrote, 'She knew how to make bored men laugh.' Such a quality is rare, and indispensable." (Idea Fountain)
"Cora, the Devon girl who spoke 'Cockney French,' quickly turned herself into the most desirable woman in Paris. She wasn't classically beautiful; one critic writing in the London Truth said she had 'a round face, carroty hair, an unamiable temper, and a laugh which if bereft of jollity stretched her coarse mouth from ear to ear. That mouth was visibly formed to eat and drink, to talk slang and swear.' But Cora's red hair quickly became legendary, earning her the nickname 'La Lune Rousse' (the Red Moon). Plus she had an unblemished complexion and a body tht was a 'marvel of nature': her breasts were accounted so perfect that plaster casts were taken of them to make bronze sculptures. . . ." (Seductress)
"Cora, the Devon girl who spoke 'Cockney French,' quickly turned herself into the most desirable woman in Paris. She wasn't classically beautiful; one critic writing in the London Truth said she had 'a round face, carroty hair, an unamiable temper, and a laugh which if bereft of jollity stretched her coarse mouth from ear to ear. That mouth was visibly formed to eat and drink, to talk slang and swear.' But Cora's red hair quickly became legendary, earning her the nickname 'La Lune Rousse' (the Red Moon). Plus she had an unblemished complexion and a body tht was a 'marvel of nature': her breasts were accounted so perfect that plaster casts were taken of them to make bronze sculptures. . . ." (Seductress)
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| Cora Pearl |
Her lovers were:
Cora Pearl's Famous lovers and Powerful Protectors, whom she called her "Golden Chain" of lovers, were:
" . . . She and the prince bounded off on hunting trips and wanton weekends, stirring up duels, dramas, and scrapes with bad checks. When the duc found out, Cora struck first. As soon as 'a liaison was finished it was finished,' she insisted, and 'she herself would terminate it.'" (Seductress: Women Who Ravished the World and their Lost Art of Love)
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| Alexandre Duval |
Lover in 1872.
" . . . She was the mistress of the wealthy Alexandre Duval who lavished her with gifts and money. When she chose to end the affair, Duval was so distraught that he shot himself on her doorstep. Rather than call for assistance or help him, she went back inside and went to bed. Duval survived but stories of the incident spread quickly and brought her theatrical career to an end. . . ." (Plymouth Local History)
"Around 1872, another younger lover, millionaire Alexandre Duval, gave her a hundred-page book, each page a thousand-franc, note, but he couldn't keep up with her demands financially and she dismissed him. He returned with a revolver (his intent unclear) and wounded himself badly. The scandal resulted in her banishment -- briefly -- from France, so she moved around and gradually sold off her French assets, losing Napoleon's financial backing in 1874 when he decided to concentrate on 'a life of work.'" (Bad Girls from History)
" . . . It was then that Cora met the man who would be her ultimate downfall. His name was Alexandre Duval. Twelve years younger than Cora, incredibly handsome and wealthy, Alexandre wouldn't take no for an answer. His family had made their fortune with a chain restaurant . . . He basically stalked Cora. If times had been different, Cora would have stuck to her guns and continued her refusals. But a girl had to ear, and Alexandre was swimming in francs. However, Cora soon bankrupted him, and with no money, no more Cora. . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
"One of her lovers, a young restaurant heir, lacked the stomach for her extreme love sports. When she gave him his conge, he stalked out, seized a loaded gun, and barged into Cora's drawing room. He fired wildly in her direction, then turned the barrel on himself and collapsed in a bloody heap on the floor. Although he recovered and became a pillar of bourgeois society, Cora was condemned as his murderess, driven from Paris, and hounded throughout Europe." (Seductress)
"Another peril had been an uncultured one -- after relieving Alexandre Duval of his considerable fortune inherited by Alexandre from his father Baptiste-Adolphe Duval, founder of the Bouillon Duval chain, Cora Pearl refused to receive him further, and he shot himself. Although this was not fatal clearly no one thought of him as Armand Duval brought to life. Duval was in any case something of a figure of fun --- after te death of the comte de paris, said Arthur Meyer, Duval only ate crepes and he was nicknamed Godefroy de Bouillon, gentilhoome consomme --- but the jest here is that much of the Duval fortune had been made through the low wages paid to the twelve hundred employees --- not that Coral Pearl had any idea of redistributive justice. Moreover 'Duval aspired [. . .] to fashion a pliant personnel by hiring women to wait on tables, tables that were now turned. In 1900 the waitresses (only the Duval in the rue Montesquieu employed waiters) struck for a twelve hour day and against giving some of their tips back to the management. . . ." (Oscar Wilde's Elegant Republic: 402)
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| Charles, Duc de Morny |
4) Charles de Morny, Duc de Morny (1811-1865)
Lover in ?-1862
"The Emperor’s brother generously contributed to the luxurious life demanded by Pearl. In 1864, Pearl rented a château in the region of the Loiret known as the Chateau de Beauséjour – 'beautiful sojourn.' It was an extravagantly adorned residence of impeccably-maintained interiors and grounds, upscale furnishings, and stained glass windows. Her private bedchamber included a customized bronze bathtub decorated with her interlinked initials. The château was conceived for hosting gala events. The chef was instructed to spare no food for the fantastic meals. There were seldom fewer than fifteen guests at the dinner table, and Pearl had a reputation for creating leisure entertainment that was unexpected, outrageous, and excessively dramatic." (The Vintage News)
"Morny was of immaculate appearance: Largely bald, he ported a well-tended mustache, had a svelte physique, and always dressed impeccably. Despite his affable manners and conversational ease, he was steely and unscrupulous. He was about to become one of the most powerful figures of the Second Empire." (Paris Reborn: Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City: 101)
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| Ludovic de Gramont |
5) Ludovic de Gramont, 9th Duc de Caderousse (1834-1865)
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| Prince Napoleon Bonaparte 1860. |
6) Prince Napoleon Bonaparte (1822-1891)
3rd Prince von Montfort
Lover in 1868-1874
" . . . When the emperor's half-brother, the Duke of Morny, died, she took up with his cousin 'Plon-Plon,' Prince Joseph Charles Bonaparte (1922-91), Napoleon's nephew. In return for her exclusive attention, he gave her a mansion and the money to buy a large collection of racehorses, which she ran with English jockeys. . . ." (Seductress)
" . . . A few years after Morny's premature death in 1865, Cora became the mistress of Prince Napoleon, cousin to Emperor Napoleon III. He bought her two homes in Paris and supported her financially until 1874." (Wikipedia)
"Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, Emperor Bonaparte’s prominent cousin, was her most enduring admirer and a devoted provider. She met the exceedingly rich, 42-year-old prince in 1868, and their liaison lasted for nine years, the longest relationship in Pearl’s vocation. He bought her several homes, one of them an original palace, “Les Petites Tuileries.” (The Vintage News)
Affair's benefits.
" . . . When Morny died in 1865, Cora became the mistress of Prince Napoleon... He purchased two homes in Paris for her and also supported her financially until 1874. . . " (Plymouth Local History)
"In 1865, she became the mistress of Prince Napoleon. . . He supported her for nine years, usually for about 10,000 francs per month, and also bbought her many expensive gifts and several houses (including a small palace, les Petites Tuileries). . . ." (Honest Courtesan)
" . . . Such behaviour did not deter Prince Napoleon, who became her lover in 1868, three years after the Duc de Morny died. This became possibly her longest relationship, lasting some nine years, during which time she had a key to the Palais Royal and a monthly allowance of 12,000 francs." (Bad Girls from History: Wicked or Misunderstood?)
7) Robert Bignell.
"Her next lover was Robert Bignell, who engaged her to sing at the Argyll Rooms ‐ though her voice was not at all unrefined, but she had the looks to draw a crowd. He then took Eliza to Paris, where they set up home as man and wife and she changed her name to Cora Pearl. In no time at all she left him, sometimes singing in Parisian haunts, but mostly concerned with finding rich men who would pay for luxurious gowns and jewels ‐ and a growing gambling habit." (Virtual Victorian)
" . . . She befriended Robert Bignel, owner of the Argyle Dancing Rooms, where she plied her trade. He took her to France on holiday as his mistress, but she refused to return to England, throwing her passport on the fire so that he had no choice but to leave her behind. Adopting the name Cora Pearl (because she liked the sound of it), she set about acquiring a circle of wealthy admirers. There was no better place for that than Paris during the Second Empire. The city was the center of the civilized world, a nonstop succession of balls and parties where, as Alexandre Dumas fils described it, 'Women were luxuries for public consumption like hounds, horses, and carriages.'" (The Book of the Dead)
"She became the mistress of Robert Bignell, the proprietor of the Argyll Rooms and together they visited Paris, a place she fell in love with so much the she refused to return to London with Bignell...." (Wikipedia)
"In 1858, her English lover Robert Bignell, took her to Paris. Emma, aged 23, seized the chance to make something of her life...Within weeks, she underwent a metamorphosis, changing her name to Cora Pearl and dressing in exquisite and costly gowns. . . ." (Surviving History)
"While working in London, she became involved in prostitution and had dalliances with several wealthy men. She became the mistress of Robert Bignell who owned the Argyll Rooms in Regent Street. Together they travelled to Paris where she first adopted the name, Cora Pearl. She so fell in love with Paris that she refused to return to London with Bignell." (Plymouth Local History)
". . . (M)any young women who worked in respectable shops turned to prostitution occasionally because wages were low. Emma took a small room and soon began entertaining gentlemen callers. Her luck changed when she made the acquaintance of Robert Bignall, owner of the Argyll Rooms, a popular dance hall where many of London's demimondaine congregated. She became his mistress and when he took her to Paris Cora fell in love with the city. When Robert returned to England and his family, Cora stayed behind. She took the name Cora Pearl just because she fancied the way it sounded." (Scandalous Woman)
" . . . It wasn't long before she started working at a brothel called The Argyll Rooms, whose owner Robert Bignell soon recognized her potential and asked her to be his mistress, moving her into a suite of her own. Within a year he took her on holiday to Paris, and she so fell in love with the city that she decided to remain; she adopted the stage name 'Cora Pearl', took a cheap room, and made her living as a streetwalker until she met a pimp named Roubisse who set her up in better quarters. He paved the way for her future success by teaching her the business and insisting she develop her professional skills. . . ." (Honest Courtesan)
8) Monsieur Roubisse.
"Cora Pearl was a 19th-century courtesan, well-known in the French society which enjoyed her illustrious notoriety during the time of the Second French Empire. Performing as a street courtesan, she made an instant connection with a client, Monsieur Roubisse, who moved her to a more appropriate accommodation, taught her the business essentials of her street trade, and educated her in promoting and expanding her range of specialized skills. Six years later, she was in love with his all-encompassing influence and despaired of ever leaving him. However, her fate had other plans, and her tutor died of a heart attack." (The Vintage News)
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| Victor Massena 2nd Duke of Rivoli (right) 1806 |
Lover in 1860-1862.
French amateur ornithologist.
2nd Duca di Rivoli, 3rd Prinz von Essling.
"Her first lover of influence was the multi-titled, twenty-five-year-old Victor Masséna, the third Duke du Rivoli at the time, and later the fifth Prince of Essling. He treated her in luxury, inundating her with jewels, servants, a private chef, and money. When she went to the horse races and the casinos in the chic resort of Baden, Germany, he provided her with gambling funds. He bought her a horse, and she became an accomplished equestrienne. It was noted that she could ride like an Amazon and was gentler to her horses than to her paramours. Her companionship with Masséna lasted five years, while she was simultaneously sharing her services with Prince Achille Murat, a man who was a bit older than Masséna." (The Vintage News)
"(I)n 1860 Cora was already well-established with Victor Massena, Duc du Rivoli (later Prince of Essling)." (Honest Courtesan).
" . . . She made the acquaintance of Victor Massena, the Duc de Rivoli, that man that she called the first link in her golden chain of lovers. Massena was handsome, courteous, and highly sexed. Soon they became lovers, a relationship (that) lasted six years. While Massena was considered her 'amant en titre' or official lover, he didn't have exclusive rights over her. . . ." (Scandalous Woman)
"Francois Victor Massena, 2nd Duke of Rivoli became her first major benefactor around this time. However, while with him, she developed a serious gambling habit, and after bailing her out financially one to many times, the Duke ended their affair.. . . ." (Wikipedia
"Cora's first major conquest was Francois Victor Massena, Duke of Rivoli, Prince of Essling, and noted ornithology enthusiast. He was enamoured of Cora, showering her with gifts and money, paying for her staff and buying her first horse. Cora took to the saddle 'like an Amazon', as one admirer noted. Her skill at riding helped her to stand out from the crowd, and gave her an avenue to attract a large number of additional lovers, including Prince William of Orange, heir to the throne of the Netherlands. . . ." (Headstuff)
" . . . As she moved up the food chain, she made the acquaintance of Victor Massena, the Duc de Rivoli, the man she called the firt link in her golden chain of lovers. Massena was handsome, courteous, and highly sexed. soon they became lovers, a relationship lasted (sic) six years. While Massena was considered her 'amant en titre', or official lover, he didn't have exclusive rights over her. . . . " (Scandalous Woman)
Affair's benefits.
"It was the Duc (Rivoli) who first introduced her to extravagance: besides the money, jewelry and servants (including a chef), he gave her funds for gambling and bought her the first horse of the sixty she would eventually own. . . ." (Honest Courtesan).
"Living humbly in Paris she attracted numerous lovers, the first high-profile figure being Victor Massena (the grandson of one of Napoleon's generals) who supplied expensive dresses and jewellery. He also funded her servants, including a chef, and her gambling habit. Cora was not able, to Victor's chagrin, to attract further lovers including the much younger Prince Achille Murat, who gave her a horse. With a new passion for equestrianism, Cora found a house withe stables and added more than sixty fine horses, employing English grooms." (Bad Girls from History: Wicked or Misunderstood?)
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| Willem of the Netherlands Prince of Orange |
10) Willem of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange (1840-1879)
Crown Prince of the Netherlands
Son of: Willem III of the Netherlands & Sophie von Wurttemberg.
11) Shar of Persia.
" . . . Also when Cora Pearl, celebrated English beauty, accompanied the dark-skinned Sharh of Persia to the Opera and was fondling against her. One Frenchman wrote in indignant protest against her making an open parade of her black lover' before the wives and daughters of Frenchmen. Anti-English feeling as well as the fact that Cora Pearl was, or had been the mnistress of their Emperor, Napoleon III, undoubtedly had much to do with this. . . ." (Rogers. Nature Knows No Color-Line: Research into the Negro Ancestry in the White Race: 155)
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| Elizabeth Armistead |
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . Elizabeth was considered striking rather than a great beauty, but she had other qualities that inspired passion in men. There was a stillness about her, a certain luminosity, that drew attention and entranced her admirers. Most important of all, she had charm, as well as a genius for friendship and she was a good listener and perhaps it is these qualities which were the real secret of her success. . . ." (Elizabeth Hunbury)
" . . . She was known for her good nature and intelligence as much as her beauty–she was tall and statuesque, with a strong physique and large bust. She had a sharp wit and a talent for languages that gentlemen found as fascinating as the rest of her." (Dirty Sexy History)
"As a courtesan, Elizabeth attracted the attention of several well-known men. Among these men was General Richard Smith who had acquired a fortune while heading the East India Company. When he took Elizabeth as his mistress, he provided her with a luxurious lifestyle until he was imprisoned for corruption. She also became mistress to John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset until his patronage abruptly ended. It happened after he began a relationship with the Countess of Derby and that left Elizabeth in sudden financial difficulty. Other well-known lovers were Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby and the British nobleman and politician, Lord George Cavendish." (Walton.Elizabeth Armistead: Courtesan to Charles James Fox)
Courtesan to men of the highest distinction & greatest fortunes.
"In 1775, twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth Armistead was working as a prostitute in one of the exclusive brothels in London's West End that catered to men of the highest distinction and greatest fortunes. She must have been clever, fascinating, and lucky to have lasted that long in a business where teenage virgins were highly prized, but at her age, Mrs. Armistead must have wondered when her luck might run out and she would end up pregnant, poxed, or turned out to make room for 'fresh stock'. If any of those things happened, she would face a bleak future indeed." (The Scandalous Beginning of a Timeless Romance)
Elizabeth's love life.
"Elizabeth Armistead was a courtesan, who had risen from humble beginnings. She was 30 when she became mistress to the Prince... Her beauty swiftly acquired her a succession of rich and aristocratic patrons, such as the Duke of Ancaster, the Duke of Dorset, and the Earl of Derby, Viscount Bolingbroke. At the time of her assignation with the Prince, she was mistress to the Duke of Devonshire's brother, Lord George Cavendish."(Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson: 129)
Elizabeth's love life.
"Elizabeth Armistead was a courtesan, who had risen from humble beginnings. She was 30 when she became mistress to the Prince... Her beauty swiftly acquired her a succession of rich and aristocratic patrons, such as the Duke of Ancaster, the Duke of Dorset, and the Earl of Derby, Viscount Bolingbroke. At the time of her assignation with the Prince, she was mistress to the Duke of Devonshire's brother, Lord George Cavendish."(Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson: 129)
Elizabeth's list of client-lovers.
"Elizabeth Armistead’s client list reads like a who’s who of 18th century society. The scurrilous Town and Country Magazine reported in 1776 that she could ‘claim the conquest of two ducal coronets, a marquis, four earls and a viscount,’ most probably all at the same time. x x x One of her first patrons was the Duke of Ancaster who set her up in a house in Portman Square. Then came the Duke of Dorset followed by the Earl of Derby and this time a home in Hampstead. Then after Derby came Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke whose appalling treatment of his wife Lady Diana Spencer led her to seek solace in the arms of Topham Beauclerk." (Good Gentle Woman)
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| Elizabeth Armistead |
Elizabeth's lovers were:
1) Robert Bertie, 4th Duke of Ancaster (1756-1779)
Lover in 1779.
"1779 Robert now dallies with another courtesan Elizabeth Armistead and sets her up as her patron in a house in Portman Square. Town and Country magazine claimed that Elizabeth whilst with Robert had an affair with a lieutenant of infantry and bore his child. Robert's involvement did not last long as he died in the same year." (The Berties of Grimsthorpe Castle: 222)
"1779 Robert now dallies with another courtesan Elizabeth Armistead and sets her up as her patron in a house in Portman Square. Town and Country magazine claimed that Elizabeth whilst with Robert had an affair with a lieutenant of infantry and bore his child. Robert's involvement did not last long as he died in the same year." (The Berties of Grimsthorpe Castle: 222)
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| Charles James Fox |
2) Charles James Fox (1749-1806)
Lover in 1783.
British statesman
British statesman
"But her most enduring relationship was with statesman and Whig politician Charles James Fox, said to be ‘the finest Prime Minister Britain never had.’ And what had begun as a platonic friendship went on to become an affair and ended up as a surprisingly successful marriage. While openly acknowledged as his mistress, Elizabeth’s marriage to Fox remained a secret for seven years, upon not his insistence but hers." (Good Gentle Woman)
"After a string of lovers later, Charles James Fox was not the sad, rejected lover of Perdita. He somehow found consolation in the arms of Elizabeth. But neither politician nor courtesan thought they would end up falling in love. For the first time it appeared that Elizabeth was in love with one of her clients, and he loved her back. However, years of drinking, gambling and womanizing didn't leave Fox with enough money to sustain Elizabeth's pricey lifestyle. She resisted his advances but finally gave in and by 173 she settled down to a monogamous relationship with Fox. In 1795 they secretly wed. . . Fox surprised everyone in 1802, including his best friends, when he revealed that he and Elizabeth had been married for seven years. His true friends, like Georgiana, warmly accepted the 'fallen' woman knowing the strength of the couple's love. When Fox lay on his deathbed four years later his last words were to his beloved wife, 'It don't signify my dearest, dearest Liz.' Although heartbroken, the ever-independent Elizabeth went on to live for many years, watching many of her and her husband's friends pass into the next world. She died at the ripe old age of 91 in 1842." (The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century)
"If Georgiana was having an affair with Fox, it was brief and insignificant compared to their profound friendship. Towards the end of her life she claimed that he had never been her lover, only her friend. She may have been lying, of course, which would mean that she had shared him with the courtesan Mrs. Armistead, who became his mistress in 1783. Elizabeth Armisted was a handsome, good-natured cockney with no interest in politics or literature. It was not an obvious match. Nevertheless, they were happy together and Mrs. Armistead retired from her profession." (Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: 127)
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| Elizabeth Armistead |
"After a string of lovers later, Charles James Fox was not the sad, rejected lover of Perdita. He somehow found consolation in the arms of Elizabeth. But neither politician nor courtesan thought they would end up falling in love. For the first time it appeared that Elizabeth was in love with one of her clients, and he loved her back. However, years of drinking, gambling and womanizing didn't leave Fox with enough money to sustain Elizabeth's pricey lifestyle. She resisted his advances but finally gave in and by 173 she settled down to a monogamous relationship with Fox. In 1795 they secretly wed. . . Fox surprised everyone in 1802, including his best friends, when he revealed that he and Elizabeth had been married for seven years. His true friends, like Georgiana, warmly accepted the 'fallen' woman knowing the strength of the couple's love. When Fox lay on his deathbed four years later his last words were to his beloved wife, 'It don't signify my dearest, dearest Liz.' Although heartbroken, the ever-independent Elizabeth went on to live for many years, watching many of her and her husband's friends pass into the next world. She died at the ripe old age of 91 in 1842." (The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century)
"If Georgiana was having an affair with Fox, it was brief and insignificant compared to their profound friendship. Towards the end of her life she claimed that he had never been her lover, only her friend. She may have been lying, of course, which would mean that she had shared him with the courtesan Mrs. Armistead, who became his mistress in 1783. Elizabeth Armisted was a handsome, good-natured cockney with no interest in politics or literature. It was not an obvious match. Nevertheless, they were happy together and Mrs. Armistead retired from her profession." (Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: 127)
"If Georgiana was having an affair with Fox, it was brief and insignificant compared to their profound friendship. Towards the end of her life she claimed that he had never been her lover, only her friend. She may have been lying, of course, which would mean that she had shared him with the courtesan Mrs. Armistead, who became his mistress in 1783. Elizabeth Armisted was a handsome, good-natured cockney with no interest in politics or literature. It was not an obvious match. Nevertheless, they were happy together and Mrs. Armistead retired from her profession." (Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: 127)
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| Edward Smith-Stanley 12th Earl of Derby |
Lover in 1779?
British peer & politician
"There was much swapping among aristocrats, too. When the Duke of Dorset took up with the Earl of Derby's Countess, the Earl transferred his affections to the Duke's former mistress Elizabeth Armistead. The Town and Country Magazine cooed: ;His lordship immediately took a house for her at Hampstead; and as he makes d, allowed her his own equipage, besides two very handsome saddle horses no knd of secret of his amour, under his present circumstances, they may frequently be seen riding ensemble in Hyde Park, upon a fine day, and are often met upon road to Hampstead. Them seem perfectly well pleased with each other, and his ;prdship has had so complete a surfeit of matrimony that this probably may be a lasting alliance.' Katie Hickman (2004) speculates that the Earls generosity may have been motivated by a desire for revenge on his wife." (Linnane. Madams: Bawds & Brothel-Keepers of London)
4) Frederick St. John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke (1732-1787)
"Armistead's next lover was Viscount Bolingbroke, known as 'Bully' and with good reason. Previously married to Lady Diana Spencer, he had beaten and generally mistreated her so she that taken a lover, Topham Beauclerk, whom she married when Bully divorced her. She regretted the new marriage almost as much, but at least had achieved a modicum of celebrity under her new name, the artist Lady Diana Beauclerk." (Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London)
"One particular night, Elizabeth Armistead was entertaining Lord Bolingbroke, a courtier and horse breeder recently divorced from Lady Diana Spencer. Bully Bolingbroke had lept many of the most celebrated courtesans of the day, including Nelly O'Brien and Polly Jones . . . While he and Mrs. Armistead were in bed together, there came a disturbance at her door. A group of Bully's friends from his club demanded entry. . . The party included Lord Egremont . . . Charles Fox . . . and his bosom friends Richard Fitzpatrick, James Hare, and Bully's brother-in-law Lord Robert Spencer. . . When they learned their friend Bully was being entertained on the premises, the group decided to surprise him. Egremont would later write, 'Bully, as they called him, was in bed with a Lady and they kicked the door open and she (Armistead) was the Lady.' History does not record how either Mrs. Armistead or the irascible Bolingbroke reacted to the intrusion, but within a short time, he had taken her into exclusive keeping and arranged for her to make her stage debut at the Haymarket Opera House. . . ." (The Scandalous Beginning of a Timeless Romance: Charles James Fox and Elizabeth Armistead)
"One particular night, Elizabeth Armistead was entertaining Lord Bolingbroke, a courtier and horse breeder recently divorced from Lady Diana Spencer. Bully Bolingbroke had lept many of the most celebrated courtesans of the day, including Nelly O'Brien and Polly Jones . . . While he and Mrs. Armistead were in bed together, there came a disturbance at her door. A group of Bully's friends from his club demanded entry. . . The party included Lord Egremont . . . Charles Fox . . . and his bosom friends Richard Fitzpatrick, James Hare, and Bully's brother-in-law Lord Robert Spencer. . . When they learned their friend Bully was being entertained on the premises, the group decided to surprise him. Egremont would later write, 'Bully, as they called him, was in bed with a Lady and they kicked the door open and she (Armistead) was the Lady.' History does not record how either Mrs. Armistead or the irascible Bolingbroke reacted to the intrusion, but within a short time, he had taken her into exclusive keeping and arranged for her to make her stage debut at the Haymarket Opera House. . . ." (The Scandalous Beginning of a Timeless Romance: Charles James Fox and Elizabeth Armistead)
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| George IV of Great Britain @ NPG |
Lover in 1781-1782.
"In Elizabeth, the Prince of Wales had more than met his match. He was used to being the man of the moment, the one everyone wanted yet this time, he was the one doing the chasing. She was attacked for the affair, seen as a tool of the Whigs, a honeytrap designed to capture the prince for their cause but, in truth, he was perfectly willing to be trapped by her, by any attractive woman. Far from a scheming political tool in the hands of the opposition, Elizabeth was living life on her own terms and the Prince of Wales didn’t hold any lasting fascination for her. Soon George’s appeal and bank balance wore thin and Elizabeth took a jaunt to the continent in the company of her patrons, correctly guessing that he would soon drown his sorrows with other lovers. When she returned, she established herself in a new Surrey home, St Ann’s Hill, and took her old friend, Fox, as her lover." (Georgian Dining Academy)
"Next came Mrs. Elizabeth Armistead -- a well-known member of Mrs. Goodby's upmarket establishment in Marlborough Street and later the wife of the politician Charles James Fox -- and Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Hamilton, both before and after her marriage to the Earl of Derby.
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| George Cavendish 1st Earl of Burlington @Wikipedia |
7) George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington (1754-1834)
"Lord George Cavendish – Brother of the Duke of Devonshire, Lord George was an intermittent patron of courtesan Elizabeth Armistead before his marriage. In one comical incident, he called upon his mistress late one evening only to discover the Prince of Wales hiding in her closet, stark naked!" (Other World Diner)
8) George St. John (1761-1824)
British aristocrat & politician
3rd Viscount Bolingbroke; 4th Viscount St. John
9) Robert Spencer (1747-1831)
10) General Richard Fitzpatrick. (1748-1813)
Anglo-Irish soldier, wit, poet, politician
& 'sworn brother' of Charles James Fox
". . Armistead was next the lover of the very wealthy nabob General Richard Smith. . . Whether the General acquired Armistead as a fashion accessory or out of lust, he made her rich. He conferred her second annuity on her, giving her at last a rare degree of autonomy. She bought two houses in fashionable locations, Bond Street and Clarges Street, and took dancing lessons in order to make an elegant entrance into her box at the opera. . . ." (Madams)
Wife of: Capt. Clarence Trelawny, Austrian Hussars, an English horse breeder., mar 1854, div 1865.
Her lovers were:
Sally Salisbury.
English courtesan
"Lavinia's was a success story; other 'toasts' were not so fortunate. Take the case of Sally Salisbury, born the daughter of a bricklayer in 1692. A beauty of considerable intelligence and wit, Sally was also a 'madcap', with a violent temper which was to prove her undoing. She was apprenticed to a seamstress at the age of nine, but ran away to be an orange girl in the Garden. By fourteen, she was working as a whore for the pious Mother Whyburn, a high-class bawd who had been seduced while at finishing school in Italy and completed her education in a more unorthodox fashion, by working in a seraglio. Mother Whyburn selected girls when they were little more than children and coached them in the social graces necessary to pull the gentry, dressing up her 'kittens' with paint and patches and claiming they were all parson's daughters or young milliners. Sally soon became Mother Whyburn's star attraction, and her lovers included the Duke of Richmond, the Duke of St. Albans (Nell Gwyn's son by Charles II), the poet Matthew Prior and the Prince of Wales (later George II). Sally's charges were so high that 'shee made Folks pay vastly Dear for what they had but they paid the greatest Price for the Greatest Pleasure'. After a riot at Mother Whyburn's, Sally ended up in jail, but not for long: her judge, NM. Justice Blagney, not only fell in love with her and secured her release, but was so infatuated he set himself up as her personal slave. When Mother Whyburn died in 1719, Sally went to work for the ill-famed Mother Needham. It was here, in 1722, that Sally stabbed her lover, Lord Finch, in a fit of temper. Convinced that he was about to die in her arms, his Lordship whispered, 'I die at pleasure by your hand,' although he later recovered. Sally was arrested and sent to Newgate, and, despite his injuries, her lover did all he could to console her with legal help and hampers of food. However, Sally developed 'brain fever', presumably as a result of venereal disease, and died in 1724. She was thirty-two years old." (City of Sin: London and its Vices)
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| Fanny Murray @Wikipedia |
(1729-1778)
English courtesan, celebrity
& fashion leader.
Daughter of a penniless musician.
Wife of David Ross (1728-1790), Drury Lane actor, mar 1756.
A faithful wife to the actor David Ross.
"Fanny Murray, the most notorious Covent Garden prostitute from 1746-1754. Thomas Potter could have, from the point of view of time, known her. At the time Wilkes' printed essay appeared, Potter had been dead four years and Fanny Murray had been the faithful wife of David Ross for several years. There had been no hint of scandal about her but, now, her name was once again whispered in sporting circles. Many of her old patrons came to her aid and in October 1768 the King of Denmark invited her to his famous masked ball in London where, aged 40, she was proclaimed the Belle of the Ball. She and Ross lived happily thereafter until her death in 1778." (Thomas Bradshaw (1733-1774): 33)
A classic tale of rags-to-riches.
"Hers was a classic tale of rags-to-riches that could be found in any prostitute narratives of the day. Born Frances Rudman, into an impoverished musician's family in Bath in 1729, she rose to become a great beauty and premier courtesan of the day. At the height of her celebrity, she inhabited an elegant demi-monde of courtesans, actresses and mistresses whose lovers were drawn from elite society, from royal, aristocratic and political circles. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: Fanny Murray)
"Hers was a classic tale of rags-to-riches that could be found in any prostitute narratives of the day. Born Frances Rudman, into an impoverished musician's family in Bath in 1729, she rose to become a great beauty and premier courtesan of the day. At the height of her celebrity, she inhabited an elegant demi-monde of courtesans, actresses and mistresses whose lovers were drawn from elite society, from royal, aristocratic and political circles. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: Fanny Murray)
Fanny's physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Although she wasn't a traditional beauty, she was famed for her pretty face and her cleavage, with her breasts once described by one of her many admirers as 'orbs of snowy whiteness'." (Daily Mail)
One of the perfections of the age in her prime.
"Murray did not conform to today's idea of perfect beauty, being neither tall nor willowy like twenty-first-century top models and style icons. Indeed, she did not fully conform to the ideals of her own day, for Murray was short and slightly overweight. . . In her prime, however, Murray was one of the perfections of the age, and voluptuous figure drove men wild with desire. She was especially admired for her bosoms, 'those fair hemispheres, those orbs of more than snowy whiteness, which seemed to pant for release from irksome robes' . . . It was her face, however, that was her undoubted fortune, and her 'apple-faced Beauty' was described admiringly by the author of the Memoirs. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans)
Fanny's driving ambition from poverty to prosperity.
". . . Punctually, at six o'clock the Company arrived in all its finery for the weekly public balls, and left just as promptly at eleven, when Murray had her last opportunity of the day to make a sale. As Murray mingled with the Company, selling her flowers and souvenirs, she witnessed at close quarters the contrast between her own poverty and the beau monde prosperity of her affluent customers. This disparity could have made Murray hungry to escape her penury and ripe for seduction. . . . " (Queen of the Courtesans: xxvii)
Resilience and steeliness of character.
"Throughout her career, Murray had her fair share of luck, but she also showed remarkable resilience and, in particular, a steeliness of character that enabled her to escape the poverty she had known in Bath, survive the seamiest of London's brothels and dominate the world of the courtesan. A courtesan's primacy was often short-lived, lasting no longer than her looks, her novelty value or her ability to please. Yet Murray presided as the reigning toast of the town for eight years, during which time she lived her glamorous life in a blaze of publicity, feted by an adoring public. Her staying power within the transient world of the courtesan was extraordinary, especially given the number of fresh-faced rivals who were a constant challenge to her primacy. As a result, she has earned her place among the handful of incomparable creatures whom the biographer Katie Hickman has described as 'exceptional women: forces of nature, as rare and scintillating as their fabulous jewels.'" (Queen of the Courtesans:xii)
An array of amours.
" . . . In Murray's case, her numerous amours included the Hon. John Spencer (1708-46), a member of one of the wealthiest aristocratic families in England; Richard 'Beau' Nash (1674-1761), the flamboyant master of ceremonies at Bath; and the rakish John Montagu (1718-92), 4th Earl of Sandwich, who rose to become First Lord of the Admiralty. Her lovers also included a fair number of fraudsters, rogues and ne'er-do-wells for whom Murray appears to have had a particular weakness. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans)
Her lovers were:
1) Captain Richard Jasper.
British naval officer
Lover in 1745-1747?.
An adventurer with an irritable, irascible temper. "Captain Jasper, a young naval officer, who was said to have ruined himself bankrolling Murray's profligate lifestyle, was a case in point. He was probably the ne'er-do-well Richard Jasper, ill-famed for his 'irritable, irascible temper', who spent much of his naval career overseas, serving in Africa, Jamaica and the West Indies until he was court martialled in 1751 for misconduct. He was in England intermittently, however, between taking command of the Phoenix frigate in 1745 and the Prince Henry man-of-war in 1747, at the time Murray was coming to public notice." (Queen of the Courtesans)
He squandered many thousands on her.
" . . . The affair of captain Jasper, of the navy, is recent in many person's memory: he insulted a gentleman of Exeter, at Munday's coffee-house, in Round-court, when the captain fell a victim to his temerity, which was what he proposed, as he was then compelled to confine himself within the verge of the court, to avoid arrests, after having pursued a life of gaiety and dissipation, and supported some of the most extravagant Thais's than upon the ton, particularly the celebrated Fanny Murray, with whom he squandered many thousands." (The Town and Country Magazine, Vol 16: 531))
2) Captain Plaistow.
"Another of Fanny's acquaintances, who cut a great dash in the season of 1749, was a man of large matrimonial experience, one Captain Plaistow, in reality a penniless adventurer, but esteemed a man of substance. In the course of twelve months he is said to have married a dozen or more wives at the Fleet or Mayfair, all women of fortune, and, according to subsequent report, 'he took care to pass no more than the honeymoon with any of them.' On one occasion, before these outrages had been discovered, Fanny was able to save him from being arrested for debt. Just as he was leaving Marylebone Gardens, a number of catchpolls pounced upon him and hurried him into a coach that was waiting at the gate. In another moment he would have been borne off to Newgate; but the beauty of Bath happened to be driving past, and seeing the predicament of her friend, stopped her carriage alongside the first. Before the bailiffs could interfere the captain had slipped from one coach into the other, and drove off with Fanny to a place of safety. Then, aware that his numerous crimes could be concealed no longer, he took the first opportunity of leaving the country." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 20)
"Murray's name was linked, for example, with the former officer and petty criminal, Captain Plaistow, whom she had probably known from the early 1750s. According to a retrospective on his life that appeared in the gossipy, and avowedly unreliable, Town and Country Magazine, Plaistow had been a 'great noise in the world, as a man of gallantry as well as a professed swindler' whose extravagant lifestyle was financed by fraudulently obtained credit. On one occasion, it was said that Murray had acted as his accomplice as he attempted to escape arrest by debt-collecting catchpoles. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans)
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| Edward Harvey |
3) Edward Harvey (1718-1778)
Lover in 1741
British military officer & politician.
Aide-de-Camp to Duke of Cumberland 1746
Son of: William Harvey & Mary Williamson.
" . . . There was less excuse for the next lapse of the little flower-seller, but considering that she was a mark for every rake in her native city, being notorious as a discarded mistress, it is not surprising that she sought the first refuge that was offered to her. For the second time it was her misfortune to fall into the hands of a false lover, one Captain Ned Harvey, a stalwart, coarse-featured warrior, who was destined to gain much glory in the French wars. Indeed, since, with a soldier's inconstancy, he 'kissed and rode away,' it was supposed by some that he had been the original betrayer, whereas he merely took the place of the fickle Spencer. Thus, at the age of twelve, poor little Fanny Rudman had discovered that her worst enemy was man." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 4)
Edward Harvey's other lovers were:
1. Giulia Frasi.
Italian opera singer
2. Peg Woffington.
British actress
4) Edward Strode.
Lover in 1751-1754.
Clerk at Gray's Inn
"By spring 1751, however, Tracy had thrown Murray over in favour of Hayes, who, since 1750, had been entertaining an Edward Strode at her home in King's Place. Having lost Hayes to Tracy, Strode wasted little time in replacing her, and by May 1751, he had taken up with Murray. Strode was a deeply unsavory and violent character who, in August 1745, when he was a clerk at Gray's Inn, had tricked a young heiress named Lucy Naomi Gough (or Goff), into a clandestine marriage at St. George's Chapel in Mayfair. He had then viciously abused her and run through her fortune in gaming houses, brothels and presumably in maintaining Hayes, Murray, and other courtesans of the day. Lucy Strode was granted a divorce in 1755, on the grounds of her husband's cruelty and adultery. Among the divorce papers, held at the London Metropolitan Archives, is a written statement in which Lucy described Strode as 'a Person of a very wicked, profligate and debauched Life and Conversation and of a very vicious cruel and inhuman Temper and Disposition'. Her statement also disclosed how Strode had committed adultery with 'divers lewd and incontinent Women', although only Hayes and Murray were actually cited. According to Lucy Strode's statement, her husband had lived with Hayes during 1750 and part of 1751, and from Kay 1751 until 1754, he was living with Murray, spending 'night after night' with her at her house in New Palace Yard, and afterward, at her lodgings near Vauxhall Gardens." (Queen of the Courtesans: cviii)"
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| Francis Dashwood @Wikipedia |
5) Francis Dashwood (1708-1781).
11th Baron le Despencer 1761
(Premier Baron of England)
Son of Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet & Mary Fane, daughter of Vere Fane, 4th Earl of Westmorland.
" . . . Similarly, her connection with the rakish Sir Francis Dashwood (1708-81) was largely the result of her tangential involvement with two of his gentlemen's clubs -- the Divan Club and the Order of St. Francis. The latter, which was founded by Dashwood, is now best remembered as the most scurrilous of the so-called hell-fire clubs." (Queen of the Courtesans: iii)
6) Henry Gould.
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
" . . . The gentle Henry Gould, a plodding if not a brilliant barrister, was another of her favourite companions, a man, who when elevated to the bench many years afterwards, gained the reputation of being a human judge, a rare distinction in the days of Tyburn gallows. . . ." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 16)
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| James Maclaine (Maclean) Highwayman c1750 |
7) James MacLaine (1724-1750)
Scottish grocer, merchant, chadler & highwayman
8) John "Jack" Harris.
Lover in 1747?.
"It was also in 1747, if the claims of the Memoirs (1:100) are to be accepted, that Murray's growing fame as a Cyprian beauty brought her to the attention of Jack Harris, 'the celebrated negociator in women' -- the Harris of Harris's List. Murray and Harris would have undoubtedly noticed each other in the busy taverns around Covent Garden . . . However, there is no evidence beyond the claims made in the Memoirs that Murray ever used Harris's pimping services. In 1747, Harris was plain John Harrison, whose father George ran the Bedford Head Tavern in Maiden Lane, on the edge of Covent Garden, By the time the Memoirs were published in 1758, Jack Harris, as he was then known, was beginning a three-year sentence in Newgate Prison, following a government clampdown on brothels." (Queen of the Courtesans)
British politician & patron of the arts
" . . . From the late 1740s she prospered with the help of Jack Harris and became the lover of the Earl of Sandwich. . . ." (A Great and Monstrous Thing: 376)
10) John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (1708-1746)
British politician
"If you meet with any of our Trading Madams, and ask them who debauch'd her, it is ten to one, but her Answer will be Jack -- I have heard of above 500 unfortunate Women, who have laid their Virginities at the Door of this young Gentleman." (Satan's Harvest Home, 1749)
First encounter: "When Murray first met Spencer, around 1742, he was 34 years old, and well known for his 'riotous course of life'. . . Spencer's reputation as 'a man of great humour' was outweighed, however, by his notoriety as a drunk, rake and rubble-rouser. He had been a heavy drinker since his youth, often staying up all night in London's brothels, taverns and bagnios to carouse with friends and prostitutes. By 1744, when Spencer was 36, he was an alcoholic . . . and was as intemperate with women as he was with drink. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxxix)
" . . .It was in this milieu, that 'the Bath goddess', as the Memoirs (1:87) dubbed her, first caught the eye of one of the most notorious rakes of his age, the tall and aristocratic John Spencer. He would change Fanny Murray's life forever." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxxii)
" . . .Orphaned at age 12, she worked as a flower girl until she was seduced by John Spencer, a grandson of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. . . ." (Wikipedia)
"There were at least two men who pursued the prepubescent Murray. . . The other was the Hon. John Spencer, who is probably most noteworthy today for being five times great-grandfather of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and thereby a direct ancestor of the future kings, Princes William and George." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxviii)
First encounter: "When Murray first met Spencer, around 1742, he was 34 years old, and well known for his 'riotous course of life'. . . Spencer's reputation as 'a man of great humour' was outweighed, however, by his notoriety as a drunk, rake and rubble-rouser. He had been a heavy drinker since his youth, often staying up all night in London's brothels, taverns and bagnios to carouse with friends and prostitutes. By 1744, when Spencer was 36, he was an alcoholic . . . and was as intemperate with women as he was with drink. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxxix)
" . . .It was in this milieu, that 'the Bath goddess', as the Memoirs (1:87) dubbed her, first caught the eye of one of the most notorious rakes of his age, the tall and aristocratic John Spencer. He would change Fanny Murray's life forever." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxxii)
" . . .Orphaned at age 12, she worked as a flower girl until she was seduced by John Spencer, a grandson of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. . . ." (Wikipedia)
"There were at least two men who pursued the prepubescent Murray. . . The other was the Hon. John Spencer, who is probably most noteworthy today for being five times great-grandfather of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and thereby a direct ancestor of the future kings, Princes William and George." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxviii)
11) John Wilkes (1725-1795)
"Harriette Wilson was the daughter of a man of Swiss extraction who had a small shop in Mayfair. She spoke French as well as English, though neither very fluently; and was renowned not so much for her beauty as for her easy manners, gaiety and flighty charm. Sir Walter Scott . . . described her as being 'a smart, saucy, girl, with good eyes and dark hair, and the manners of a wild schoolboy.'. . . ." (Wellington: A Personal History: 48)
" . . . Harriette Wilson [was the] daughter of John Dubouchet, a Swiss clock maker who eloped with Amelia, an illegitimate daughter of the essayist Isaac Hawkins Browne. Isaac (sic, John?) and Amelia eventually raised a family of fifteen children, Harriette being child number six." (everything2)
"Harriette Dubouchet (Wilson was her chosen name), one of 15 children of John Dubouchet and Amelia Cook, stocking cleaners, was born on 2 February 1736 in Shepherd Market, Mayfair 'at ten minutes before 8 o'c', one of the only dates of certainty in her memoirs. The rest she omitted in order to convey a virtuous insistence that one lover never overlapped with another. Four sisters all became courtesans---Harriette may have been the most celebrated, but Sophia, the youngest, who married Lord Berwick, was arguably the most successful." (Spectator)
5) Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess of Conyngham (1797-1876)
"So when Harriette Wilson cast out her line and drew in Frederic Lamb she hooked a member of the most prominent and influential Whig clan in the country. He was, 'by birth, at the centre of everything of interest in literature, politics, or the intellect'. There was no one with whom Frederic was not acquainted, no drawing room or club to which he was not welcome. He was fashionable and this is what Harriette needed; he would, she hoped, establish her in London rather than hide her away in a hunting lodge, and by his side she would have access to the life of the haut ton. . . . " (The Courtesan's Revenge)
Brougham was not without his own scandals and in 1826 was one of the illustrious clients named in the Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, written by the titular courtesan. Invited to buy his anonymity by Wilson and her publisher, John Joseph Stockdale, our hero paid up, saving his name for the time-being at least. Not content with mixing with royals, avoiding scandal and championing reform, he even found time to develop the Brougham, a small horse-drawn carriage!" (Madame Gilfurt)
24) Thomas Sheridan (1775-1817)
Husband of: Caroline Henrietta Callander (1779-1851).
7th Baron Craven 1791; Viscount Uffington 1801; Earl of Craven 1801; Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire 1819-1826.
"At the age of 15, Craven introduced her to the pursuits of pleasure, but she was no more enamored of him than of his cocoa trees from the West Indies. By her own account, he would amuse her by drawing pictures of his 'fellows' along with the dreaded trees, a practice Harriette called a 'dead bore.' It didn't help that she despaired of his cotton night cap. . . ." (Making History Tart and Titillating)
" . . . She was fifteen and living in the Marine Parade, Brighton when she succumbed to the charms of Lord Craven. . . . " (Wellington the Beau: 36)
"Unfortunately, this William Craven's main claim to fame was that he was the first lover of the famous courtesan Harriette Wilson. He was 31 and unmarried at the time. Harriette was much younger and did not give William a good press in her writings." (Shelley)
Personal & family background.
British politician.
" . . . Murray's connection with the radical politician, John Wilkes (1725-97), for example, stemmed from the furore that surrounded An Essay on Woman (published 1763), a blasphemous poem credited to Wilkes and addressed to Murray. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesan: iii)
12) Joseph Yorke, 1st Baron Dover (1724-1792)
12) Joseph Yorke, 1st Baron Dover (1724-1792)
British soldier, diplomat & politician
British ambassador at the Hague
" . . A youth five years younger than the wicked earl soon became his rival in the competition for Fanny's smiles, a lieutenant-colonel of twenty-two named Joseph Yorke, who recently had been helping 'Butcher' Cumberland to chastise the Scottish rebels, for, being the son of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, his promotion had come rapidly. . . ." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 16)
13) Richard Atkins, 6th Baronet of Clapham (1728-1756)
13) Richard Atkins, 6th Baronet of Clapham (1728-1756)
Lover in 1746.
". . . Murray proved no less skilled at this game of double-dealing while she was in the keeping of Sir Richard Atkins, 6th Baronet of Clapham, who became her protector around 1746, when he was 18 years of age. She was more flagrant than most, however, in flaunting her numerous lovers, so that Atkins was soon regarded as a very great dupe to her' for allowing Murray to take advantage of him as she did. Atkins was the youngest child of Sir Henry (c. 1707-28), 4th Baronet of Clapham, and Penelope Stonhouse (c. 1708-34), the daughter of Josh Stonhouse, 7th Baronet of Radley in Berkshire. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xcviii-xcix)
A Sandwich Out of a Twenty-Pound Note: an Anecdote: "Horace Walpole, writing about Fanny Murray and Sir R. Atkins, remarks: 'It is the year for contraband marriages, though I do not find Fanny Murray's is certain. I liked her spirit in an instance I heard t'other night: she was complaining of want of money; Sir Richard Atkins immediately gave her a twenty-pound note. She said, 'D__n your twenty pounds! What does it signify?' clapped it between two pieces of bread and butter and ate it.'" (Letters from Lady Jane Coke to Her Friend Mrs. Eyre at Derby, 1747-1758: 12)"
Richard Atkins' physical appearance & personality: ". . . Apart from being wealthy, Atkins was also handsome, having inherited his family's good looks. Atkins's mother was remembered as 'a fine creature', while his older sister Penelope was described by her friend Horace Walpole, who included her in The Beauties, as 'all loveliness within and without'. Atkins was tall and willowy and, in an effort to disguise his height, walked with a noticeable stoop. This led his actor friend Samuel Foote (c 1721-77). . . to nickname him 'the Waggoner's Whip'.(:n.p.)
First Encounter with Richard Atkins: ". . . According to the Memoirs (1:138), Murray first met Atkins when she was visiting one of his tenants at Clapham. It is more likely, however, that Murray and the young baronet chanced upon each other in a favourite tavern such as the Shakespeare's Head, which they both frequented. Like every other young man in her orbit, Atkins was immediately love-struck. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xcix)
Richard Atkins' personal & family background: "Sir R. Atkins was the son of Sir Henry Atkins, of Clapham, and brother of the wife of George Pitt, who was in 1776 created Baron Rivers of Strathfieldsaye. He died unmarried in 1756, and the baronetcy became extinct." (Letters from Lady Jane Coke to Her Friend Mrs. Eyre at Derby, 1747-1758: 12)
A Sandwich Out of a Twenty-Pound Note: an Anecdote: "Horace Walpole, writing about Fanny Murray and Sir R. Atkins, remarks: 'It is the year for contraband marriages, though I do not find Fanny Murray's is certain. I liked her spirit in an instance I heard t'other night: she was complaining of want of money; Sir Richard Atkins immediately gave her a twenty-pound note. She said, 'D__n your twenty pounds! What does it signify?' clapped it between two pieces of bread and butter and ate it.'" (Letters from Lady Jane Coke to Her Friend Mrs. Eyre at Derby, 1747-1758: 12)"
Richard Atkins' physical appearance & personality: ". . . Apart from being wealthy, Atkins was also handsome, having inherited his family's good looks. Atkins's mother was remembered as 'a fine creature', while his older sister Penelope was described by her friend Horace Walpole, who included her in The Beauties, as 'all loveliness within and without'. Atkins was tall and willowy and, in an effort to disguise his height, walked with a noticeable stoop. This led his actor friend Samuel Foote (c 1721-77). . . to nickname him 'the Waggoner's Whip'.(:n.p.)
First Encounter with Richard Atkins: ". . . According to the Memoirs (1:138), Murray first met Atkins when she was visiting one of his tenants at Clapham. It is more likely, however, that Murray and the young baronet chanced upon each other in a favourite tavern such as the Shakespeare's Head, which they both frequented. Like every other young man in her orbit, Atkins was immediately love-struck. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xcix)
Richard Atkins' personal & family background: "Sir R. Atkins was the son of Sir Henry Atkins, of Clapham, and brother of the wife of George Pitt, who was in 1776 created Baron Rivers of Strathfieldsaye. He died unmarried in 1756, and the baronetcy became extinct." (Letters from Lady Jane Coke to Her Friend Mrs. Eyre at Derby, 1747-1758: 12)
14) Richard Nash (1674-1761)
Lover in 1743-1744.
British dandy & fashion leader
" . . . According to her memoir, she had become a mistress to Beau Nash by 1743, at the age of just fourteen, and soon moved to London, where she became a 'dress-lodger --- an indentured prostitute who had to work to pay for the expensive clothes that she wore to solicit customers. Once she had paid off her indenture, Fanny continued as a prostitute under her own employ, but remained in poverty." (Wikipedia)
" . . . As a newly debauched girl Fanny could have easily descended into street-walking, one of the lowest forms of prostitution but fortunately for her Richard "Beau" Nash took her to live with him in St John's Court. The year Fanny spent as Nash's mistress was transformative. In no time, Fanny oozed an intoxicating mix of sex and sophistication. She was not only a fitting companion for Nash but also for the legion of elite men who, very soon, would pay handsomely to enjoy her company in their leisured, unbuttoned hours." (Express)
"By the close of 1743, Murray had had at least three lovers. She had been taken up, and as quickly dropped, by both John Spencer and Edward Harvey, and by the time she was 14, she had become mistress to Richard Nash. . . Nash . . . had taken a personal interest in the plight of the abandoned and newly debauched flower-seller. After her desertion by both Spencer and Harvey, Nash took Murray to live with him and she remained his paramour for about a year. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxxviii)
15) Robert Tracy (d.1756)
Lover in 1750-1751.
Wealthy son of a judge
"During the interruptions in her friendship with Sir Richard Atkins she came into contact with many eccentric characters. One of these, who was styled Handsome Tracy, a beau of the first water, had been the hero of an adventure that was the talk of the town. Meeting a pretty girl in the Park, he insisted upon escorting her home, when he discovered that, instead of being the daughter of a decent tradesman, as her attire seemed to indicate, her mother was a washer-woman, who eked out a living by selling butter and eggs. However, after a a night's reflection he found himself as madly in love as ever, and during the course of the day he paid another visit to his charmer. The old woman received him politely, offered him dinner, and listened patiently to his proposals, but the girl, professing to be greatly shocked, gave a flat refusal to his offers of protection. Between them the pair kept Beau Tracy drinking in their hovel unto twelve o'clock at night, when, all his prudence having oozed away, he hiccuped a resolve to marry his pretty Susan before daybreak. So, like the Duke of Hamilton and the beautiful Miss Gunning, they set off to Keith's Chapel in Curzon Street, where the knot was tied before the bridegroom had time to recover the full use of his senses. It would have been well for Fanny Murray, who became very intimate with Robert Tracy after he had grown tired of his 'egg-girl,' if she had possessed a little of the prudence of the sagacious Susan Owens." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 19)
"At the same time as her supposed liaison with MacLaine, Murray was also consorting with the dissolute Robert Tracy (or Tracey) (d.1756). Regarded as 'one of the handsomest fellows in England', 'Beau Tracy' or 'Handsome Tracy', as he was also known, was the grandson and heir of Robert Tracy (1655-1735), a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Despite the advantages of wealth, a good classical education and a career in the law, Tracy was said to have 'destroyed himself by his vices, before he had attained his thirtieth year', having squandered his fortune, and his health, on prostitutes and mistresses. . . Contemporary accounts of some of Tracy's better-known liaisons depicted him as a hapless lover and, in a famous story which is all the more remarkable for being true, Tracy, in a drunken stupor, married Susannah Owens, a seller of eggs and butter, the daughter of a washerwoman in Orchard Street, Westminster." (Queen of the Courtesans)
16) William Augustus of Great Britain, Duke of Cumberland.
"It has been claimed that Murray was chased by princes' and the greatest noblemen', yet evidence of any royal liaison is both rare and circumstantial. In February 1748, the noted blustocking and gossip, Frances Evelyn Boascawen, the wife of the naval officer and politician, Admiral Edward Boscawen, spotted Murray in the company of George II's younger son, Prince William Augustus (1721-65), the Duke of Cumberland, at a ball hosted by Gertrude, Duchess of Bedford. The duchess was the daughter of Atkins's stepfather, John Leveson-Gower and the wife of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. According to Mrs. Boscawen, Prince William invited himself to the ball and brought thirty ladies along with him, all of whom, including the prince, were masked. Mrs. Boscawen was able to recall eleven by name, including the Duchess of Dorset, Lady Pembroke and Lady Caroline Petersham (nee Fitzroy). Within the Prince's party, Mrs. Boscawen also noted that 'three masks appeared who stayed together and did not go to the top of the room with the rest'. She describes these three women as 'fine but dirty', suggesting they were richly dressed but disreputable. They were 'soon discovered to be Miss Fanny Murray, Mrs. Kitty Hamilton and another lady.'" (Queen of the Courtesans: Fanny Murray)
Lover in 1743-1744.
British dandy & fashion leader
" . . . According to her memoir, she had become a mistress to Beau Nash by 1743, at the age of just fourteen, and soon moved to London, where she became a 'dress-lodger --- an indentured prostitute who had to work to pay for the expensive clothes that she wore to solicit customers. Once she had paid off her indenture, Fanny continued as a prostitute under her own employ, but remained in poverty." (Wikipedia)
" . . . As a newly debauched girl Fanny could have easily descended into street-walking, one of the lowest forms of prostitution but fortunately for her Richard "Beau" Nash took her to live with him in St John's Court. The year Fanny spent as Nash's mistress was transformative. In no time, Fanny oozed an intoxicating mix of sex and sophistication. She was not only a fitting companion for Nash but also for the legion of elite men who, very soon, would pay handsomely to enjoy her company in their leisured, unbuttoned hours." (Express)
"By the close of 1743, Murray had had at least three lovers. She had been taken up, and as quickly dropped, by both John Spencer and Edward Harvey, and by the time she was 14, she had become mistress to Richard Nash. . . Nash . . . had taken a personal interest in the plight of the abandoned and newly debauched flower-seller. After her desertion by both Spencer and Harvey, Nash took Murray to live with him and she remained his paramour for about a year. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: xxxviii)
15) Robert Tracy (d.1756)
Lover in 1750-1751.
Wealthy son of a judge
"During the interruptions in her friendship with Sir Richard Atkins she came into contact with many eccentric characters. One of these, who was styled Handsome Tracy, a beau of the first water, had been the hero of an adventure that was the talk of the town. Meeting a pretty girl in the Park, he insisted upon escorting her home, when he discovered that, instead of being the daughter of a decent tradesman, as her attire seemed to indicate, her mother was a washer-woman, who eked out a living by selling butter and eggs. However, after a a night's reflection he found himself as madly in love as ever, and during the course of the day he paid another visit to his charmer. The old woman received him politely, offered him dinner, and listened patiently to his proposals, but the girl, professing to be greatly shocked, gave a flat refusal to his offers of protection. Between them the pair kept Beau Tracy drinking in their hovel unto twelve o'clock at night, when, all his prudence having oozed away, he hiccuped a resolve to marry his pretty Susan before daybreak. So, like the Duke of Hamilton and the beautiful Miss Gunning, they set off to Keith's Chapel in Curzon Street, where the knot was tied before the bridegroom had time to recover the full use of his senses. It would have been well for Fanny Murray, who became very intimate with Robert Tracy after he had grown tired of his 'egg-girl,' if she had possessed a little of the prudence of the sagacious Susan Owens." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 19)
"At the same time as her supposed liaison with MacLaine, Murray was also consorting with the dissolute Robert Tracy (or Tracey) (d.1756). Regarded as 'one of the handsomest fellows in England', 'Beau Tracy' or 'Handsome Tracy', as he was also known, was the grandson and heir of Robert Tracy (1655-1735), a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Despite the advantages of wealth, a good classical education and a career in the law, Tracy was said to have 'destroyed himself by his vices, before he had attained his thirtieth year', having squandered his fortune, and his health, on prostitutes and mistresses. . . Contemporary accounts of some of Tracy's better-known liaisons depicted him as a hapless lover and, in a famous story which is all the more remarkable for being true, Tracy, in a drunken stupor, married Susannah Owens, a seller of eggs and butter, the daughter of a washerwoman in Orchard Street, Westminster." (Queen of the Courtesans)
16) William Augustus of Great Britain, Duke of Cumberland.
"It has been claimed that Murray was chased by princes' and the greatest noblemen', yet evidence of any royal liaison is both rare and circumstantial. In February 1748, the noted blustocking and gossip, Frances Evelyn Boascawen, the wife of the naval officer and politician, Admiral Edward Boscawen, spotted Murray in the company of George II's younger son, Prince William Augustus (1721-65), the Duke of Cumberland, at a ball hosted by Gertrude, Duchess of Bedford. The duchess was the daughter of Atkins's stepfather, John Leveson-Gower and the wife of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. According to Mrs. Boscawen, Prince William invited himself to the ball and brought thirty ladies along with him, all of whom, including the prince, were masked. Mrs. Boscawen was able to recall eleven by name, including the Duchess of Dorset, Lady Pembroke and Lady Caroline Petersham (nee Fitzroy). Within the Prince's party, Mrs. Boscawen also noted that 'three masks appeared who stayed together and did not go to the top of the room with the rest'. She describes these three women as 'fine but dirty', suggesting they were richly dressed but disreputable. They were 'soon discovered to be Miss Fanny Murray, Mrs. Kitty Hamilton and another lady.'" (Queen of the Courtesans: Fanny Murray)
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Grace Elliott |
(1758-1823)
Scottish courtesan, socialite & royal mistress.
Daughter of: Hew Dalrymple (d.1774), Scottish advocate & poet & Grisel Craw (d.1765)
Wife of: John Elliott, 1st Baronet, a very wealthy physician, mar 1771, div 1776.
Grace Elliott's autobiography.
A celebrated career as a high-class prostitute.
" . . . Grace Dalrymple, an Edinburgh lawyer's daughter born in 1758 was educated in France before returning to her native Auld Reikie around 1773. A disastrous marriage led to a series of affairs and a celebrated career as a high-class prostitute in Scotland, England, and in France where she died in 1823. She is said to have seduced the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Orleans and Napoleon; her portrait by Gainsborough now hangs in New York's Metropolitan Museum. . . ." (Scotland's Books: 376)
The elite circle of continental Whiggery.
"Elliott was born in Scotland around 1754-1758 and educated in a convent on the Continent. Her early marriage to the doctor John Elliott (whose clients included Sophia Baddeley and Mary Robinson) ended in divorced in 1776, following Elliott's affair with Lord Valentia. By August 1778 the Town and Country Magazine was openly referring to her as a 'paphian votary' and her nickname of 'Dally the Tall' also dates from around this time. As a courtesan, Elliott was associated with the elite circle of 'continental Whiggery' and she shared lovers with Elizabeth Fox and Mary Robinson throughout the 1770s and 1780s. Elliott's daughter, Georgiana Augusta Frederic Seymour, was born in 1782 and her father was allegedly the Prince of Wales (George IV), although comments in the letters of Sarah Harriet Burney (half-sister of Frances Burney) from November 1806 suggest that the mystery of her paternity continued into the nineteenth century: 'Miss Seymour is a celebrated beauty, and a very amiable creature; but during twenty years that she has lived in the world, nobody has been able to settle who is her Papa; some say it is the P---of W---; others think it my lord Cholmondeley himself; in short, the matter is wholly in doubt." (British Women's Life Writing, 1760-1840)
"For Georgiana Seymour had two men who stood as a father to her and even today it is unclear which man, if either, was her true parent. Her mother was the well-born but infamous eighteenth-century courtesan Grace Dalrymple Elliott, who had also enjoyed the protection of a British earl, a French duke and the Prince of Wales himself. Born illegitimately, Georgiana's father was reputed to be the prince, for Grace and her royal lover had dallied together in a short-lived but well-documented romance for a few months in 1781 and Georgiana was born nine months later. Grace had gained her notoriety and reputation as a courtesan following her starring role in her own Crim. Con. case and divorced from her husband, the society doctor John Elliott. He was very much her senior and much shorter in stature than his tall and elegant wife and had discovered Grace in a most compromising situation in a London bagnio (high-class brothel) with the reprobate but handsome Viscount Valentia. Following her divorce Grace had, for many years been the mistress of George James, 4th Earl (and later 1st Marquess) of Cholmondeley and she had hoped he would make her his countess, but once she realized it was never going to happen she took herself off to Paris and into the arms of Louis Philippe Joseph, the Duke of Orleans. Shen then left her French duke to return to England and the charms of an English prince, judging him to be the better catch and she was perhaps correct in that assumption as the child born of the union gave her a permanent hold on the man who would become king and gained her an annuity from the royal purse." (A Right Royal Scandal: Two Marriages That Changed History: 8)
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . According to one of Grace's contemporaries, she was 'as rosy as Hebe and as graceful as Venus.' Striking rather than conventionally beautiful, she came to be called Dally the Tall, because of her exceptional height. . . ." (British Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575-1875: 102)
" . . . The prince fell for Perdita the first time he saw her perform on stage at the end of 1779. By early 1781, his atention had shifted to Mrs. Armistead, who quickly grew impatient among tghe crowd of his other inamoratas and went to France, whence Mrs. Elliott happened to be returning. On the rebound from Cholmondeley (known variousy in the scandal sheets as 'the Athletic Peer', 'Lord Tallboy' and 'the Whimsical Lover'), Elliott had pursued a liaison with the duc de Chartres (later duc d'Orleans and self-styled Philippe-Egalite of the French Revolution), a friend of the prince of Wales. Gossips chattered that the affair between the prince and Dally lasted barely an hour. Although sha had renewed her involvement with Cholmondeley at this time, th eprince acknowledged as his the daughter she delivered on 30 March 1782, probably with Cholmondeley's complicity. (Sex, Money and Personal Character in Eighteenth-Century British Politics: 120)
Her lovers were:
1) Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris (1744-1816)
Lover in 1774
Earl of Mountnorris; 8th Viscount of Valentia; Baron Altham.
Son of: Richard Annesley, 6th Earl of Annesley
Husband of: Lucy Lyttelton, daughter of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton of Fortescue.
Lord Valentia's personal & family background: " . . . Valentia also had a claim to the earldom of Anglesey but he could not prove that he had been born legitimately due to his father's tangled love life and so had succeeded to his father's Irish titles only. Baron Lyttelton had both money and influence and Valentia hoped, with his father-in-law's help, to rescue his earldom as Baron Lyttelton was anxious to see his daughter a countess. This was not to be, as a further legal challenge resulted in the final decision that Valentia's claim to the earldom of Anglesey was not valid." (An Infamous Mistress: 46)
First encounter
"The polar opposite to Dr. John Eliot, Valentia was closer to Grace's age, still a young man when the couple met either in the latter half of 1773 or the early spring of 1774. With both being married, Valentia viewed Grace as little more than an interesting distraction; how Grace viewed him is unknown but she could hardly have been hoping for a legitimate union with him. Grace, although still so young, knew the rules by which society played and she knew what the consequences could be. The Matrimonial Magazine (admittedly sympathetic to Eliot) later referred to Grace as the 'fair Elliotina', a sweet seducer who happened to cross Valentia's eye and fatally led his steps astray." (An Infamous Mistress: 47)
Grace elopes with Valentia
" . . . Grace Dalrymple was married while still in her teems to Dr. John Elliott, afterwards a baronet, a distinguished Scottish physician, who was old enough to be her father. Not long after he marriage she eloped with Lord Valentia, who took her to France. . . ." (Armstrong, 2004, p. 167)
". . . However, in 1774, she fled Edinburgh with Viscount Valentia, Arthur Annesley (1744-1816), after a scandal. . . ." (Wikipedia)
Affairs effect on the lovers' family & society
"Dr. Elliott was a workaholic, never turning down an opportunity to make another penny, so Grace was probably left along at home. At some point, the doctor appears to have become suspicious of how his young wife was spending her time. He interrogated his servants about her and discovered that she had made the acquaintance of Arthur Annesley, Lord Valentia, a young rake about town. Elliott immediately evicted Grace from their Knightsbridge home and began divorce proceedings. He also instituted civil proceedings against Valentia for the offence of criminal conversation. . . Elliott won his case against Valentia and was awarded compensation of twelve thousand pounds. Meanwhile, the divorce took two years to work its way through the courts and Parliament, finally being signed off by King George III in 1776. As part of the settlement, Elliott agreed to provide Grace with an annuity of two hundred pounds a year for the rest of her life. Lord Valentia was not prepared to leave his wife for Grace, and her father had died just before the divorce proceedings began, so she was now on her own. She needed a protector. Her knight in shining armor came in the shape of George James Cholmondeley, Marquess of Cholmondeley." (Scarlet Women: the Scandalous Lifes of Courtesans, Concubines and Royal Mistresses: 67)
" . . . In 1774, Grace's husband applied to the criminal and ecclesiastical courts and to the House of Lords for a divorce, presenting evidence of her elopement with a young Irish peer who was married and the father of several children. Two years later the divorce was granted with twelve thousand pounds in damages." (Baetjer, 2009, p. 102)
Lord Valentia, a noted libertine
" . . . In the tradition of the family he was a noted libertine, and in 1774 had an affair with Grace (alias 'Dally the Tall') (c1754-1823), daughter of Hew Dalrymple and then wife of Dr. John Eliot (later 1st bt.), who divorced her and secured 12,000 pounds damages from Lord Valentia; it was said Dr. Elliott 'selected Lord Valentia from several other lords and gentlemen who have been equally kind to the fair one'; she subsequently became the mistress of the Duc d'Orleans."
"Valentia had, before his own marriage in 1767, been known to keep mistresses and court the demireps of the day but, once married had proved faithful to his wife, the Town and Country Magazine describing him in the early days of his marriage as 'uxorious' or a perfect and doting husband. He changed after losing his final legal challenge for the earldom, becoming cooler towards his wife and preferring to associate more with others. A cynic might suggest that he had merely played the part of devoted husband to please Lucy's father while he was funding Valentia's attempt to reclaim his earldom and, when that failed, he had no further need to appease the Lyttelton family." (An Infamous Mistress: 48)
"Annesley, Arthur (1744-1816), 8th Viscount of Valentia and 1st Earl of Mountnorris. Elder son and heir of Richard Annesley (1693-1761), de facto 6th Earl of Anglesey and his third wife, Juliana, daughter of John Donovan of Co. Wexford, born 7 August 1744. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1761; MA 1763). Admitted to the Privy Council of Ireland, 1776; Governor of Co. Wexford, 1776-78. He was deemed by the Irish House of Lords in 1765 and 1771 to have legitimately succeeded his father but by the British House of Lords to be illegitimate and therefore not entitled to succeed to his father's English honours of Baron Altham and Earl of Anglesey. He was therefore known by the senior Irish title of Viscount of Valentia until he was created Earl of Mountnorris in the Irish peerage, 3 December 1793. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1799 and of the Royal Society in 1800. In the tradition of the family he was a noted libertine, and in 1774 he had an affair with Grace (alias 'Dally the Tall') (c.1754-1823), daughter of Hew Dalrymple and then wife of Dr. John Eliot (later 1st bt.), who divorced her and secured £12,000 damages from Lord Valentia; it was said Dr Elliott "selected Lord Valentia from several other lords and gentlemen who have been equally kind to the fair one"; she subsequently became the mistress of the Duc d'Orleans. He married 1st, 10 May 1767 at St James Westminster, Lucy Fortescue (1743-83), only daughter and eventual heiress of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton of Frankley, and 2nd, 20 December 1783 in Dublin, Sarah (1763-1849), third daughter of Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd bt., and had issue. . . ." (Landed families of Britain and Ireland)
2) Charles William Wyndham (1760-1828)
English politician
"At the period of signing the Treaty of Peace at Amiens,in 1801, Lord Malmesbury, the British Plenipotentiary, met Mrs. Elliott in society, and recommended her to return to England with him. Of this opportunity she availed herself, travelling under the assumed name of Madame St. Maur. For a short time she resided at Brompton, at the house of a Mrs. Naylor, where lodgings had been procured for her, by her direction, by her maid, Madame La Rue. It was during her residence here, that, one day when she was out shopping with Mrs. Naylor, her attention was drawn to a post-chaise and four by a gentleman thrusting out his head and regarding her with fixed attention. She soon recognised in the traveller the Hon. Charles Wyndham, brother of Lord Egremont. It afterwards appeared that he was travelling to Brighton to join a party, at which the Prince of Wales was to be present, at the Pavilion, then the mansion of the Earl, and subsequently the property of the Prince. . . ." (Journal of My Life During the French Revolution: 201)
" . . . Along with Cholmondeley and the prince, the Honourable Charles Wyndham, third son of the 2nd Earl of Egremont, was another man who was talked about for the vacant position (he too testified at Lady Worsley's Crim. Con. trial). Educated, like Grace's cousin Charles Henry Mordaunt, at Westminster School, he was about six years younger than Grace, born in 1760, and probably the most profligate of her admirers. He was a close companion of the Prince of Wales (much to the king and queen's disgust), and therefore also a companion of Cholmondeley. Grace's daughter was thought by some to resemble Charles Wyndham and the Earl of Cholmondeley was the man who stepped forward to look after her but it was the prince who was named as the father in the baptism record." (An Infamous Mistress: The Life, Loves and Family of the Celebrated Grace Dalrymple Elliott: 105)
Lover in 1784-1789.
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Charles-Philippe Comte d'Artois 1790 @Pinterest |
3) Charles-Philippe d'Orleans, Comte d'Artois (1757-1836)
Lover in 1784?.
"In 1784 the Prince of Wales introduced Grace to the French Duke of Orleans, who then established her in Paris. She continued to live in Paris after the outbreak of the French Revolution, being imprisoned in 1793 for her known Royalist sympathies and on suspicion of having helped Marquis de Champcenetz escape the clutches of the Revolution. She was eventually released after the death of Robespierre and the end of the Reign of Terror in 1794. . . ." (Undiscovered Scotland)
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| George IV of Great Britain 1780/82 @Wikipedia |
4) George, Prince of Wales.
[later George IV of Great Britain)]
Lover in 1781.
[See entry under George IV of Great Britain]
[See entry under George IV of Great Britain]
"George Augustus Frederick, Prince of wales and eldest son and heir apparent of King George III, was but 18 years old when he first made the acquaintance of Grace. . . The gossip columns of the newspapers fell over themselves in trying to decided whether Grace had indeed bagged herself a prince or whether she was once again with her noble earl. They also revelled in the rivalry between the discarded Perdita and the ascendtnt Dally thbe ht e Tall. At the beginning of June the gossip was that Perdita had declared herself to be pregnant and had asked Lord Cholmondeley to inform the prince. Perdita wasn't pregnant but another soon was, for Grace had indeed made a conquest of the Prince of Wales. Grace must have fallen pregnant towards the end of June or beginning of July 1781. One version suggests that the prince saw the full-length portrait Grace painted by Gainsborough in 1777 hanging in Cholmondeley's Piccadilly house and desired Cholmondeley to introduce her to him. Could that be the reason for Cholmondeley jourmeying to Paris and returning with Grace? Did he actually go to her with a request from the prince? Such a scenario would certainly fit with Grace abandoning her aristocratic French duc and returning so swiftly to London, rightly knowing that a liaison with the prince could only be to her benefit. Although nearly a decade older than her royal conquest, she was beautiful and stately and no doubt once she met him she emphasized to the prince that her borther was currently serving in the regiment named in his honour and fattered him to no small degree." (An Infamous Mistress)
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1st Marquess of Cholmondeley 1772 |
5) George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley (1749-1827)
Lover in 1776-1779.
"Cholmondeley and Grace had been lovers since they met at a masquerade ball in January 1776, two months before her divorce was finalized. He was known as a handsome, fun-loving ladies' man. They were such an attractive couple that there were frequent rumors of their impending marriage. However, Cholmondeley's family became increasingly unhappy with his liaison with the notorious divorcee. They didn't consider her to be a suitable addition to their family. Grace didn't have a title and wouldn't bring any significant property or money with her to the Cholmondeley family. Cholmondeley's great-uncle, Horace Walpole, was particularly opposed to Grace. Coincidentally, his doctor was none other than Dr. John Elliott. Walpole probably heard unflattering stories about Grace from Elliott, which is likely why he was so set against her joining the family. That sealed Grace's fate. The relationship finally foundered in 1779." (Scarlet Women: 68)
. . . By January 27, 1776, the Morning Post was reporting that 'the sentimental Mrs. Elliott' had appeared 'arm-in-arm with Lord Cholmondeley' at a masquerade at the Pantheon in Oxford Street. They were together until May 1779. . . ." (British Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575-1875: 102)
"In the summer of 1778 rumours were whispered about town suggesting that Grace had become a mother once again, presenting Lord Cholmondeley with a son. The Gazetteer newspaper certainly subscribed to the tale, reporting from the military training camp on Coxheath in Kent tjhat 'Lord Torpedo', was there as colonel-in-chief of the Cheshire militia received a leteter each day from Grace that threw him into confusion: His Lordship was seen to change colour, on reading the letter, which brought him the melancholy account of his sons have got the gripes, and Miss a violent longing for a coronet, with which, it is thought, she will shortly be indulged.' . . . If there was any truth in the rumours and Cholmondeley and Grace did have a son together, then he can't have survived many months; perhaps this was also the death knell for their relationship." (An Iffamous Mistress)
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George Selwyn |
6) George Selwyn (1719-1791)
British aristocrat, politician & wit
" . . . When she gave birth to a daughter, Georgiana Augusta Frederica Seymour, in 1782, paternity was claimed by the Prince of Wales (later to become George IV), but also by three other men, Charles Wyndham, George Selwyn and the Earl of Cholmondeley." (Undiscovered Scotland)
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George Wyndham 3rd Earl of Egremont |
7) George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751-1837)
British peer & politician.
British peer & politician.
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Louis-Philippe d'Orleans as Duc de Chartres, c1779 |
8) Louis- Philippe II d'Orleans (1747-1793)
Duc d'Orleans.
"Grace left England for France in the late summer of 1784 with Philippe, Comte d'Chartres, who became Duc d'Orleans. Philippe was charming, generous, very rich and married; he provided Grace with her house in Paris and a cottage in the country. She was sincerely attached to him, as he was to her, but he was serially unfaithful. . . ." (Gilbert)
"Grace's reaction was to take herself off to France in search of new admirers to support her. Her name had already been linked with French noblemen visiting London, including Louis XVI's brother, the comte d'Artois. In France, she attracted the attention of Philippe, duc de Chartres, one of the wealthiest men on the Continent. For a time, she was the queen bee of his harem of lovers. But in 1781, she suddenly returned to England. The comte was known to be somewhat fickle, so it may be that he had simply tied of his English paramour. There were also reports that she returned to London in the company of her old love, Lord Cholmondeley. . . Whatever the truth about Grace's reunion with Cholmondeley, it didn't last long. She returned to France in 1784 to resume her liaison with the staggeringly wealthy Philippe, but this time, she had to share him with his current favorite, Agnes de Buffon. It was a small price to pay, considering the lifestyle he cound provide for her. But events beyond their control would interrupt Grace's charmed life. France was heading for a massive convulsion. . . Soon after the king and queen were executed, Grace's former lover, Philippe, took his last journey to an appointment with Madame La Guillotine. . . ."(Scarlet Women: 68)
". . .(F)idelity to one woman was an impossibility for Louis Philippe Joseph, and the following year he added a second mistress to his entourage. This was another twenty-year-old who had recently arrived from England and would later give him much-needed comfort and support. . . She was now one of the leading courtesans in the land and was naturally introduced to the Duc de Chartres when he came to stay at Brighton. Mutual admiration of each other's tastes led to the Duc of Chartres becoming fascinated by his friend's mistress, and to his host's chagrin he invited Grace to visit him in Paris. A passionate affair followed, but within a year the relationship had cooled, as so often in Louis Philippe Joseph's life, into a friendship that would last for the next seven years." (Godfather of the Revolution:110)
9) Monsieur Dupuis, Mayor of Ville d'Avray.
"Death was not far away for Grace now. She died on 15 May 1823 at six o'clock in the evening in the house of Monsieur Dupuis, the mayor of Ville d'Avray. . . ." (An Infamous Mistress: 204)
10) Napoleon I of the French.
Personal & Family Background: Grace was the youngest daughter of Hew Dalrymple (d.1774), an advocate and poet, and his wife Grizel. "...Grace's parents separated when she was in her infancy, and her mother died while Grace was still a child...." (Baetjer, 2009, p. 102)
British courtesan & author
Harriette's personal & family background.
"John James Dubochet was a clock maker, a handsome citizen of the canton of Berne in Switzerland, who came to live in London at No. 2 Carrington Street in Mayfair about 1780. His wife, Amelia Cook, bore him a number of charming daughters called Harriette, Fanny, Amy, Sophia and Juliet." (Wellington the Beau: 35)
"Harriette Wilson was the daughter of a man of Swiss extraction who had a small shop in Mayfair. She spoke French as well as English, though neither very fluently; and was renowned not so much for her beauty as for her easy manners, gaiety and flighty charm. Sir Walter Scott . . . described her as being 'a smart, saucy, girl, with good eyes and dark hair, and the manners of a wild schoolboy.'. . . ." (Wellington: A Personal History: 48)
" . . . Harriette Wilson [was the] daughter of John Dubouchet, a Swiss clock maker who eloped with Amelia, an illegitimate daughter of the essayist Isaac Hawkins Browne. Isaac (sic, John?) and Amelia eventually raised a family of fifteen children, Harriette being child number six." (everything2)
"Harriette Dubouchet (Wilson was her chosen name), one of 15 children of John Dubouchet and Amelia Cook, stocking cleaners, was born on 2 February 1736 in Shepherd Market, Mayfair 'at ten minutes before 8 o'c', one of the only dates of certainty in her memoirs. The rest she omitted in order to convey a virtuous insistence that one lover never overlapped with another. Four sisters all became courtesans---Harriette may have been the most celebrated, but Sophia, the youngest, who married Lord Berwick, was arguably the most successful." (Spectator)
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Harriette is writing while her cadre of lovers watch on Caricature by H, Heath, 1825 |
". . . Having, according to her own account, become the mistress of Lord Craven at the age of fifteen, she had numbered amongst her lovers and admirers the Marquesses Lorne and Worcester, Lord Frederick Bentinck, Lord Ponsonby, Lord Alvenley, the Hon. Frederick Lamb, Tom Sheridan and George Brummell. . . ." (Wellington: A Personal History: 48)
Her lovers were:
Impressive list of admirers.
" . . . Among the names that figure in the narrative are those of the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Leinster, Lord Hertford, Marquis Wellesley, the Earl of Fife, Prince Esterhazy, Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, Lord Ebrington, Beau Brummell, Henry Luttrell and 'his inseparable fat Nugent,' Viscount Ponsonby, Richard Meyler, Lord Frederick Bentinck, Lord Byron, and Henry Brougham (who instigated the writer, as she informs us, to undertake her campaign against the 'paltry conduct of his grace Beaufort'). . . ." (Wikisource)
Lovers competing for her favors.
"Harriette kept several lovers competing for her favors. The most consistent of her followers were the Marquess of Lorne, son and heir of the Duke of Argyll; the Marquess of Worcester, son and heir of the Duke of Beaufort; Lord Frederick Bentinck, son of the Duke of Portland; and Frederick Lamb, son of Lord Melbourne." (English Royal Authors)
The lady prefers older, rich men.
"As much as Harriette loved the attentions of young men, older ones had more money. Recall that Scott called her 'a smart saucy girl.' She chose the older Duke of Leinster over his younger cousin, the Marquess of Worcester. Harriette was known to keep company with Henry Brougham, a Liberal MP, and Wilson Croker, the politician and diarist. She had an on again, off again, affair with the Duke of Wellington, while also plying her trade with the Duke of Argyll." (English Royal Authors)
Opportunity of genuine intimacy to teenage boys.
". . . To teenage boys fresh from public schools and universities, whose only previous female contact had been with relations or servants and who expected to marry someone approved by their parents, Harriette Wilson represented an opportunity of genuine intimacy. . . Harriette was someone with whom it was possible to be friends and this, quite as much as the promise of a sexual education or the glamour of her fame, was her appeal. She was in many cases the first woman in whom most of her young lovers had ever confided." (The Courtesan's Revenge)
The lady prefers older, rich men.
"As much as Harriette loved the attentions of young men, older ones had more money. Recall that Scott called her 'a smart saucy girl.' She chose the older Duke of Leinster over his younger cousin, the Marquess of Worcester. Harriette was known to keep company with Henry Brougham, a Liberal MP, and Wilson Croker, the politician and diarist. She had an on again, off again, affair with the Duke of Wellington, while also plying her trade with the Duke of Argyll." (English Royal Authors)
Opportunity of genuine intimacy to teenage boys.
". . . To teenage boys fresh from public schools and universities, whose only previous female contact had been with relations or servants and who expected to marry someone approved by their parents, Harriette Wilson represented an opportunity of genuine intimacy. . . Harriette was someone with whom it was possible to be friends and this, quite as much as the promise of a sexual education or the glamour of her fame, was her appeal. She was in many cases the first woman in whom most of her young lovers had ever confided." (The Courtesan's Revenge)
". . . The affair between them lasted many years, during which time he resolved her debts and contributed generously to her support. Perhaps he was charmed by her apparently effortless ability to insult him. . . ." (The Book of the Courtesans; A Catalogue of their Virtues: 82)
2) Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster (1791-1897)
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| Augustus FitzGerald 3rd Duke of Leinster @Wikipedia |
Anglo-Irish aristocrat & freemason
" . . . The 3rd Duke of Leinster (1791-1874) was also a Whig and Lord Lieutenant of the County of Kildare. He was also Lord High Constable at the coronations of William IV and Queen Victoria. Harriette Wilson thought him handsome and amiable but not too bright. She said 'His person was pretty good; straight, stout, and middle-sized, with a good, fair Irish allowance of leg. At the age of 27, he married a daughter of the Duke of Harrington. . . ." (Barons, Rebels and Romantics: The Fitzgerald's Fisth Thousand Years: 95)
3) Beau Brummell (1778-1840)
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Charles Stewart Vane 3rd Marquess of Londonderry |
4) Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1778-1854)
British army officer & diplomat.
"The next morning, walking on the Steyne, Harriette met a general whom she was slightly acquainted through Fanny. He was accompanied by a 'middle-aged' man whom Harriette did not know but who, when he joined in the conversation, she recognized as the man who had previously followed her home. He was introduced to her as Lord Charles Stewart, half-brother of Lord Castlereach, the Marquis of Londonderry. Stewart, a widower, was eight years Harriette's senior; his wife had died a decade before while he was returning from the Peninsula having earned an impressive war record. His 'reputation for debauchery was a by-word'. Stewart had been Ambassador to Vienna but since 1815 had settled for the life of a libertine in Paris, where he cohabited openly with the Duchesse de Saga (sic), a previous mistress of Frederic Lamb. He and Harriette quickly became intimate: 'As an acquaintance he was far from unpleasant: but he was a most jealous and whimsical lover.' When Harriette returned to London early in 1819, Stewart sought her out. He wrote to her regularly in a style she called 'impassioned' and urged her to meet with him. They met and argued; he proposed to another woman 'in the most brilliant situation of life'. Hurt and angry at having been rejected for someone more 'brilliant' than herself, Harriette cut Lord Stewart. He was indignant and told her the engagement to his heiress, Lady Emily Vane Tempest, was off; Harriette and Stewart were reunited. She wrote to him and her letter was answered by a Mr. Brown who said that Lord Stewart was unable to respond to her correspondence." (The Courtesan's Revenge)
5) Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess of Conyngham (1797-1876)
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Francis Charles Seymour-Conway 3rd Marquess of Hertford |
Husband of Maria Emilia Fagnani
"The Regency Rake is a popular character from romance novels. The Marquess of Hertford was a true Regency rake, one who preferred married women to the innocent maiden. Though 15 years younger than the Prince Regent, Seymour-Conway quickly became on of Prince George’s intimates. He was nicknamed “Red Herrings” because of his red hair and whiskers. Known for his appetite for sensual pleasures, he was once described by a colleague as 'a man without one redeeming quality in the multitude of his glaring, damning vices.' Toward the end of his life, a critic said of Seymour-Conway, '[He was] the debauched sensualist, the heartless roué, the gamester – he who never evinced a latent spark of virtue among the his glaring vices, revelling in crime even in his impotent old age and dotage.'" (Regina Jeffers)
"Lord Hertford was the prototype for the characters of the Marquess of Monmouth in Benjamin Disraeli’s 1844 novel, Coningsby, and the Marquess of Steyne in William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel, Vanity Fair, because, like Steyne, “Lord Hertford kept a secret garconniere, where, according to Harriette Wilson [a celebrated Regency era courtesan], who was a regular visitor, he would entertain ‘any fair lady who would honour him with a visit incognita, after his servants should have prepared a most delicious supper and retired to rest.'” In his last years he was said to live with a retinue of prostitutes. Charles Greville described him as broken with infirmities and unable to speak due to paralysis of the tongue, and claimed ” there has been, so far as I know, no such example of undisguised debauchery.” He died in March 1842, aged 64, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard. The Marchioness of Hertford died in March 1856, aged 84." (Regina Jeffers)
"[N]o man ever lived more despised nor died less regretted. His life and his death were equally disgusting and revolting to every good and moral feeling. As Lord Yarmouth he was known as a sharp, cunning, luxurious, avaricious man of the world, with some talent ... He was a bon vivant, and when young and gay his parties were agreeable, and he contributed his share to their hilarity. But after he became Lord Hertford and the possessor of an enormous property he was puffed up with a vulgar pride, very unlike the real scion of a noble race ... After a great deal of coarse and vulgar gallantry, generally purchased at a high rate, he formed a connection with Lady Strachan [wife of Admiral Sir Richard Strachan], which thenceforward determined all the habits of his life ... There has been, as far as I know, no example of undisguised debauchery exhibited to the world like that of Lord Hertford, and his age and infirmities rendered it at once the more remarkable and the more shocking. Between 60 and 70 years old, broken with infirmities and almost unintelligible from a paralysis of the tongue, he has been in the habit of travelling about with a company of prostitutes, who formed his principal society." (The History of Parliament)
Major-General in British Army
Son of: William Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland & Lady Dorothy Bentinck, daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire.
" . . . Described by the infamous courtesan Harriette Wilson as 'my very constant and steady admirer' and 'my constant swain', he nevertheless became engaged to the 'spirituelle' Lady Mary Lowther. . . ." (History of Parliament)
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| Frederick Lamb 3rd Viscount Melbourne @ NPG |
8) Frederick Lamb, 3rd Viscount Melbourne (1782-1853)
"So when Harriette Wilson cast out her line and drew in Frederic Lamb she hooked a member of the most prominent and influential Whig clan in the country. He was, 'by birth, at the centre of everything of interest in literature, politics, or the intellect'. There was no one with whom Frederic was not acquainted, no drawing room or club to which he was not welcome. He was fashionable and this is what Harriette needed; he would, she hoped, establish her in London rather than hide her away in a hunting lodge, and by his side she would have access to the life of the haut ton. . . . " (The Courtesan's Revenge)
9) George IV of Great Britain.
Illegitimate son of: Hon. Edmund Craggs Nugent, Lieutenant Colonel & a Miss Fennings.
Lover in 1826
British statesman
Lord Chancellor of Great Britain 1830
Son of: Henry Brougham & Eleanora Syme
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| Sir George Nugent |
10) George Nugent (Sir) (1757-1849)
Illegitimate son of: Hon. Edmund Craggs Nugent, Lieutenant Colonel & a Miss Fennings.
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| George William Campbell 6th Duke of Argyll |
". . . Certainly around 1805 she was already the mistress of the 6th Duke of Argyle. . . . " (Wellington the Beau: The Life and Loves of the Duke of Wellington:36)
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Henry Brougham 1st Baron Brougham @ NPG |
12) Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham (1778-1868)
Baron Brougham & VauxLover in 1826
British statesman
Lord Chancellor of Great Britain 1830
Son of: Henry Brougham & Eleanora Syme
Husband of: Mary Spalding (d.1865), mar 1821
Brougham was not without his own scandals and in 1826 was one of the illustrious clients named in the Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, written by the titular courtesan. Invited to buy his anonymity by Wilson and her publisher, John Joseph Stockdale, our hero paid up, saving his name for the time-being at least. Not content with mixing with royals, avoiding scandal and championing reform, he even found time to develop the Brougham, a small horse-drawn carriage!" (Madame Gilfurt)
"Frances Wilson shows how Harriette's long relationship (sexual and then legal and epistolary) with Henry Brougham endured even after he became Lord Chancellor, and it was Brougham who organised the payment for her funeral. . . ." (The Guardian)
" . . . The courtesan Harriette Wilson successfully blackmailed him for a £30 annuity (£160 by 1832) to keep quiet about their 1824 dalliance. . . ." (The History of Parliament)
Harriette's admirer---and keeper.
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| Henry Luttrell |
13) Henry Luttrell (1765-1851)
British wit, satirist & politician
"Luttrell was the illegitimate son of the 2nd Lord Carhampton (Earl of Carhampton)." (Historical Hussies) (A Bastard in Landsdowne House)
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| Henry Somerset 7th Duke of Beaufort |
14) Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort (1792-1853)
Marquess of Worcester
British peer, soldier & politician
" . . . Harriette Wilson remembered Lord Worcester as a romantic figure fond of quoting Byron's poetry. He was a friend of Alvanley, a man with 'mature worldly manners' whose infatuation for Wilson led him to be ridiculed by his friends. He competed with the duke of Leinster for Wilson's attention and was indefatigable in his pursuit of her, if her memoirs are to be trusted." (Byron's 'Corbeau Blanc': 299)
"Lord Granville's nephew was Henry Somerset, Marquis of Worcester. Immensely tall, thin and pale (not in the least handsome, Harriette thought) with a long nose and a high brow, Worcester was nineteen years old and still a minor when he became infatuated with Harriette. He was an Oxford graduate and heir to the Dukedom of Beaufort and the Badminton estate in Gloucestershire. . . ." (The Courtesan's Revenge)
"The Duke of Beaufort 'bought off' Harriette in order to save his heir, the Marquess of Worcester from the woman. In writing, Worcester had begged Harriette to marry him. On advice of her solicitor, Harriette was told the letters would be worth 20,000 pounds in a breach of promise suit. The Duke refused her request, and Harriette turned to Henry Brougham, a celebrated lawyer of the time (and one of her ex-lovers). The Duke managed to convince Harriette to retire to Paris, with a promise of 500 pounds per year for life. When Worcester married, the Duke reneged on his promise and stopped paying Harriette's allowance. Harriette retaliated by selling her memoirs for publication. If Beaufort thought to keep his son's foolish infatuation secret,, Harriette;s book, Publish and be Damn'd: The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson brought those hopes to an end. The book was an instantaneous bestseller." (English History Authors)
" . . . Harriette Wilson remembered Lord Worcester as a romantic figure fond of quoting Byron's poetry. . . He was a friend of Alvanley, a man with 'mature worldly manners . .. , whose infatuation for Wilson led him to be ridiculed by his friends. He competed with the duke of Leinster fir Wilson's attention . . . and was indefatigable . . . in his pursuit of her, if her memoirs are to be trusted." (Byron's "Corbeau Blanc": The Life and Letters of Lady Melbourne: 299)
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| Hugh Fortescue 2nd Earl Fortescue |
15) Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue (1783-1861)
"Major General in the Spanish army and a great lady killer. Protector of La Mercandotti, the celebrated Spanish ballerina who became the rage of London at the age of fifteen. Lord Fife was said by some to be her father. In any case he lost her to the wealthy dandy, 'Golden Ball' Hughes. A current couplet read 'The fair damsel is gone, and no wonder at all That bred to the dance sha has done to the Ball.'" (Regency England Undressed: Harriette Wilson, the Greatest Courtesan of her Age)
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| John Ponsonby 1st Viscount Ponsonby |
17) John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby.
Lover in 1806.
"John, second Baron and first Viscount Ponsonby (?1770-1855). He held many diplomatic appointments between 1826 and 1850. He was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Buenos Aires from September 1826 to July 1828. Harriette Wilson became his mistress in 1806 and the story of their intimacy is recounted at great length in her Memoirs. She alleged that he had been engaged to Lady Conyngham, and that he had broken the engagement a few days before the marriage was to have taken place, because his father withheld his consent. 'She adored him beyond all that could be imagined of love and devotion. . . . For many years her sufferings were severe: her parents trembled for her reason. No one was permitted to name her former lover in her presence.' (Memoirs, I, 78) Harriette Wilson evidently suppressed that portion of her Memoirs in which Lord Stuart figured: she merely referred to the fact that this 'good-natured, obliging Ambassador' [at Paris, 1815-24, 1828-31] kindly forwarded her 'valuable Memoirs' to Stockdale in London." (The Letters of King George IV, 1812-1830, Vol 3: 465)
Lover in 1806.
"John, second Baron and first Viscount Ponsonby (?1770-1855). He held many diplomatic appointments between 1826 and 1850. He was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Buenos Aires from September 1826 to July 1828. Harriette Wilson became his mistress in 1806 and the story of their intimacy is recounted at great length in her Memoirs. She alleged that he had been engaged to Lady Conyngham, and that he had broken the engagement a few days before the marriage was to have taken place, because his father withheld his consent. 'She adored him beyond all that could be imagined of love and devotion. . . . For many years her sufferings were severe: her parents trembled for her reason. No one was permitted to name her former lover in her presence.' (Memoirs, I, 78) Harriette Wilson evidently suppressed that portion of her Memoirs in which Lord Stuart figured: she merely referred to the fact that this 'good-natured, obliging Ambassador' [at Paris, 1815-24, 1828-31] kindly forwarded her 'valuable Memoirs' to Stockdale in London." (The Letters of King George IV, 1812-1830, Vol 3: 465)
" . . . In the following year (1806) her admirer (and keeper) was John, Viscount Ponsonby, a handsome young man of whim King George IV was jealous on account of his attentions to Lady Conyngham. . . . " (Wellington the Beau: 36)
" . . . The one man with whom Harriette fell deeply in love, Lord John Ponsonby, dumped her and then began an intrigue with another of her sisters, 14-year-old Fanny." (The Guardian)
18) Lord Byron.
" . . . The one man with whom Harriette fell deeply in love, Lord John Ponsonby, dumped her and then began an intrigue with another of her sisters, 14-year-old Fanny." (The Guardian)
18) Lord Byron.
.jpg/300px-Thomas_Lawrence%2C_Portrait_of_Lord_Granville_Leveson-Gower%2C_later_1st_Earl_Granville_(c._1804%E2%80%931809).jpg) |
| Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Earl of Granville |
19) Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl of Granville (1773-1846)
British statesman & diplomat
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| Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley |
20) Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley (1760-1842)
Irish & British politician & colonial administrator
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| Pal III Antal Prince Esterhazy |
"Meyler’s grandfather, of Haverfordwest dissenting stock, flourished as a Bristol merchant and acquired Jamaican plantations. His father died on his way home from Jamaica, leaving him, at 14, sole heir to £30,000 a year.1 He joined the dandy set, one of whom Sir Henry Carew St.John Mildmay, 4th Bt., instigated his candidature at Winchester. He was returned with Mildmay after a contest. To his inamorata Harriette Wilson he boasted, incredibly, that it had cost him £20,000, but guaranteed his independence. ‘Not that he should be very active either way. In fact Lord Bath had been kind enough to point out to him the best seat in the Lower House for taking a nap.’" (The History of Parliament)
"In 1818, the young, wealthy, and fashionable British parliamentarian Richard William Meyler suffered a stroke while fox hunting. Meyler died intestate, and as a result, his extensive family estates in England and Jamaica were inherited by his closest male relative: his second cousin once removed, Richard Bright." (The Conversation)
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| Lord Robert William Manners @Wikipedia |
23) Lord Robert Manners (1781-1835)
British soldier & nobleman.
"Lord Robert Manners, whose regiment was stationed in that neighbourhood, was very attentive to me. His lordship is one of the most amiable young men, I ever met with. His finely turned head might be copied for that of the Apollo Belvidere, and yet he has no vanity. In short, a more manly, honourable, unaffected being, does not exist; and much I regret the ill health, under which he has always suffered. His lordship was kind enough to give me my first lesson in riding; often accompanied by the French Duc de Guiche, who was in the Prince Regent's Regiment, and Colonel Palmer. The latter invited me to accompany Lord Robert, to the mess-diner, at Lewes. It must more resemble a small select private party, than a mess-room, as they seldom mustered more than seven or eight persons together at table. Bob Manners, as Lord Robert is universally called, was remarkably absent, and spoke but little, yet he possessed a certain degree of quaint, odd humour! x.x.x. Speaking of LOrd Robert, my new acquaintance remarked that he was as fine, high-bred looking fellow. (Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, Vol 2: 272)
24) Thomas Sheridan (1775-1817)
British soldier, actor, poet & colonial administrator
Husband of: Caroline Henrietta Callander (1779-1851).
"While carrying out his army service under Lord Moira in Edinburgh, Sheridan was intimately involved with the wife of Peter Campbell, a wealthy businessman whose work had taken him to the West Indies. The affair led to the break up of the Campbell's marriage and in 1807, Sheridan was convicted of criminal conversation over it. Campbell was awarded £1,500 compensation, which Sheridan paid with money loaned by actors from the Drury Lane Theatre." (Find a Grave)
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| William Arden 2nd Baron Alvanley |
25) William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley (1789-1849)
British aristocrat, army officer & socialite.
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| William Craven 1st Earl Craven |
26) William Craven, 1st Earl Craven (1770-1825)
Lover in 1801.
British nobleman & soldier.
British nobleman & soldier.
7th Baron Craven 1791; Viscount Uffington 1801; Earl of Craven 1801; Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire 1819-1826.
"At the age of 15, Craven introduced her to the pursuits of pleasure, but she was no more enamored of him than of his cocoa trees from the West Indies. By her own account, he would amuse her by drawing pictures of his 'fellows' along with the dreaded trees, a practice Harriette called a 'dead bore.' It didn't help that she despaired of his cotton night cap. . . ." (Making History Tart and Titillating)
" . . . She was fifteen and living in the Marine Parade, Brighton when she succumbed to the charms of Lord Craven. . . . " (Wellington the Beau: 36)
"Unfortunately, this William Craven's main claim to fame was that he was the first lover of the famous courtesan Harriette Wilson. He was 31 and unmarried at the time. Harriette was much younger and did not give William a good press in her writings." (Shelley)
Personal & family background.
"...The son of the 6th Baron Craven and his beautiful, scandalous wife Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, he was a man whose family background was what would be referred to today as dysfunctional; both parents took lovers and in 1783 they finally separated after 13 stormy years of marriage, with his mother taking her seventh and youngest child and travelling abroad....." (Historical Romance UK)
"The Duke of Devonshire set Harriette up in a London house in Dorset Square, presented her with a second home in Brighton, gave her an allowance of 1600 pounds a year, carriages, jewelry, furs, etc., including an aviary. However, Harriette Wilson had few kind words for her benefactor." (English History Authors)
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455-1501)
Thomas Lynom
King's Solicitor-General
After her public penitence, Shore resided in Ludgate prison. While there, she captivated the King's Solicitor General, Thomas Lynom. After he expressed an interest in Shore to Richard, the King tried to dissuade him for his own good. This is evinced by a letter to John Russell from Richard, where the King asked the chancellor to try to prevent the marriage, but if Lynom were determined on the marriage, to release Shore from prison and put her in the charge of her father until Richard's next arrival in London when the marriage could take place. They were married and had one daughter. It is believed that Shore lived out the remainder of her life in bourgeois respectability. Lynom lost his position as King's Solicitor when Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, but he was able to stay on as a mid-level bureaucrat in the new reign, becoming a gentleman who sat on the commissions in the Welsh Marches and clerk controller to Arthur, Prince of Wales, at Ludlow Castle. Thomas More, writing when she was still alive, but very old, declared that even then an attentive observer might discern in her shriveled countenance traces of her former beauty." (Wikipedia)
" . . . (W)e are informed, by a letter from Richard III to the Bishop of Lincoln . . . that after her penance she had another admirer, one Mr. Thomas Lynom. His temporary protection, however, did not shield her from subsequent want; she lived many years in abject poverty, and died . . . by being starved, at least in the extremity of penury and wretchedness." (Excursions from Bath: 65)
William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1431-1483)
"Meanwhile, blithely unaware of the plot thickening at Crosby Place, the council continued to meet at the Tower to plan the coronation. Lord William Hastings, the loyal Lord Chamberlain -- newly appointed Master of the Mint at the Tower -- was steering the arrangements. Richard used the lawyer Catesby to sound out Hastings -- the one man who could conceivably stop his assumption of power -- over his attitude to him seizing the Crown. Ever loyal to his dead friend and his son -- he had even taken over Edward IV's mistress, Jane Shore, from his late master -- Hastings indignantly rejected the idea of supplanting Edward's son and heir. . . ." (Tower: An Epic History of the Tower of London: 141)
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28) John Wilson Croker (1780-1857)
Irish statesman & author
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| Jane Shore |
(c1445–c1527)
Daughter of John Lambert, a prosperous merchant & Amy Marshall, daughter of a well-off grocer.
Wife of John Lambert (d.1494), mar ?, ann 1476
"Jane was born in London in about 1445 as Elizabeth Lambert. The daughter of a wealthy merchant family, headed by John and Amy Lambert, she was in frequent contact with fellow wealthy businessmen enabling her to socialise with the most notable members of society. The family business also provided Jane with the opportunity to receive a high level of education that was unusual for a person of her social status, particularly as a female." (Historic-UK)
"As a young girl she attracted many admirers, both for her beauty and intellect. This included William Hastings, a close friend and advisor to King Edward IV. Nevertheless in terms of arranging a marriage for his daughter, John Lambert decided on successful goldsmith and banker William Shore. Shore was about fifteen years Jane’s senior, although contemporary accounts depict him as an attractive, bright man. However, the marriage failed to last and was annulled in March 1476, unusually under the instruction of Jane. She argued that Shore was impotent and unable to fulfill the marital duties of having children, thus after three bishops were commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, the annulment was granted: '‘She continued in her marriage to William Schore […] and cohabited with him for the lawful time, but that he is so frigid and impotent that she, desirous of being a mother and having offspring, requested over and over again the official of London to cite the said William before him to answer her concerning the foregoing and the nullity of the said marriage…’" (Historic-UK)
"Thomas More also asserted that the king had a love affair with a “Mistress Shore”. But, as in the case of Elizabeth Lucy, not a single shred of contemporary evidence exists to show that Edward IV had anything to do with Mistress Shore. Unlike Elizabeth Lucy, however, Mistress Shore definitely did exist. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Lambert. A marriage for her was arranged by her family, and her first husband was called William Shore. Unfortunately, that marriage proved difficult, and the young wife appealed to the church for its annulment. Eventually she married again. Before that, however, she had two love affairs: one with Lord Hastings, and the other with Edward IV’s step-son, the Marquis of Dorset. Curiously, a number of sources prove that her first husband, William Shore, was a supporter of Edward IV, and worked with him. However, no contemporary sources ever claim that Mistress Shore had a relationship with the king." (History Extra)
Affairs after Edward IV's death.
"Edward's brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, became Protector of the Young King Edward V by the terms of the late king's will. Elizabeth Shore later took two other lovers, she briefly became the mistress of Edward IV's eldest stepson, Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, the queen's son by her first husband Sir John Grey, after which her ardent admirer William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings became her lover. Grey's wife was the wealthy heiress Cecily Bonville, Baroness Harington, who was Hastings' stepdaughter. Hastings had previously supported Richard against the Woodville faction, but loyal to the memory of Edward IV, would not have countenanced the removal of his children from the succession." (English Monarchs)
Her lovers were:
Edward IV of England (1422-1483)
Lover in 1476-1483.
Lover in 1476-1483.
Start of the relationship.
"According to the Patent Rolls for 4 December 1476, it was during the same year that Shore began her liaison with Edward IV, after his return from France. Edward did not discard her as he did many of his mistresses, and was completely devoted to her. . . Their relationship died until Edward's death in 1483." (The White Queen).
The King's favourite concubine.
The King's favourite concubine.
"Jane Shore is a woman who lived in Renaissance England, taking her place in history as one of the many mistresses to King Edward IV. Shore was his favorite concubine, which has awarded her a bit of fame: she appears in many works depicting the reign of Edward IV's successor, Richard III. . . ." (Jane Shore: Selfless Victim of Filthy Harlot?)
The merriest of the king's mistresses.
The merriest of the king's mistresses.
"She attracted the notice of Edward IV, and soon after 1470, leaving her husband, she became the king's mistress. Edward called her the merriest of his concubines, and she exercised great influence. . . . " (Luminarium)
" . . . Jane's liaison with Edward IV began in 1476 after his return from France and lasted until the king's death in 1483; there was no known issue of this relationship. As the king said, he had three mistresses: ' one merry, one holy, one wily.' Janes was undoubtedly the merry mistress, beautiful, charming, fun-loving, and quick-witted. Aside from the king, she seduced many other men with her charm, including Lord William Hastings; Thomas Grey, the marquis of Dorset; and even the solicitor Thomas Lynom, who Richard III appointed to investigate her. After the death of Hastings, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, imprisoned her and made her do public penance for her alleged multiple moral transgressions and for her alleged role in the Hastings Conspiracy with the Woodvilles. . . ." (Edward IV, England's Forgotten Warrior King: 316)
Aftermath: "...After her lover King Edward IV of England died, Jane Shore not only lost her position at court, but was accused of witchcraft by Edward's successor, Richard III (according to Thomas Moore). Her wealth gone, Jane eventually became a pauper haunting the streets and prisons of London." (Williams and Echols, p. 91).
Personal & Family Background: "...Elizabeth Shore was the daughter of one wealthy London merchant and the wife of another...." (Given-Wilson and Curteis, p. 13)
Spouse & Children: "This lovely, though unhappy woman. . . was the daughter of Mr. Thomas Winstead, a wealthy and eminent citizen of London, and one of the worshipful company of mercers. . . . " (King, 1821, p. 9)
Aftermath: "...After her lover King Edward IV of England died, Jane Shore not only lost her position at court, but was accused of witchcraft by Edward's successor, Richard III (according to Thomas Moore). Her wealth gone, Jane eventually became a pauper haunting the streets and prisons of London." (Williams and Echols, p. 91).
Spouse & Children: "This lovely, though unhappy woman. . . was the daughter of Mr. Thomas Winstead, a wealthy and eminent citizen of London, and one of the worshipful company of mercers. . . . " (King, 1821, p. 9)
John D'Arcy
" . . . Elizabeth (Massingbird), Countess of Berkeley. According to 'Advice in a Heroic Epistle to Mr. F. Villiers'..., her youthful lover was John D'Arcy, grandson of the Earl of Holderness and lieutenant-colonel of a troop of horse. . . ." (Wilson: 153)
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455-1501)
Lover in 1483
Edward IV's eldest stepson
" . . . [The] beautiful and witty daughter of a London mercer and wife of a goldsmith, was Edward IV's mistress from about 1470 until his death. She was also the mistress of Thomas Grey, 1st M. of Dorset, elder son of Elizabeth Woodvile and then of William, Lord Hastings, Chamberlain to Edward V. She was thus involved in the politics leader to Richard III's coup d'etat. After Hastings' execution (1483) Richard accused her of sorcery and forced her to do a public penance. She died in obscurity." (Arnold-Baker: 1136)Thomas Lynom
King's Solicitor-General
After her public penitence, Shore resided in Ludgate prison. While there, she captivated the King's Solicitor General, Thomas Lynom. After he expressed an interest in Shore to Richard, the King tried to dissuade him for his own good. This is evinced by a letter to John Russell from Richard, where the King asked the chancellor to try to prevent the marriage, but if Lynom were determined on the marriage, to release Shore from prison and put her in the charge of her father until Richard's next arrival in London when the marriage could take place. They were married and had one daughter. It is believed that Shore lived out the remainder of her life in bourgeois respectability. Lynom lost his position as King's Solicitor when Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, but he was able to stay on as a mid-level bureaucrat in the new reign, becoming a gentleman who sat on the commissions in the Welsh Marches and clerk controller to Arthur, Prince of Wales, at Ludlow Castle. Thomas More, writing when she was still alive, but very old, declared that even then an attentive observer might discern in her shriveled countenance traces of her former beauty." (Wikipedia)
" . . . (W)e are informed, by a letter from Richard III to the Bishop of Lincoln . . . that after her penance she had another admirer, one Mr. Thomas Lynom. His temporary protection, however, did not shield her from subsequent want; she lived many years in abject poverty, and died . . . by being starved, at least in the extremity of penury and wretchedness." (Excursions from Bath: 65)
William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1431-1483)
"Meanwhile, blithely unaware of the plot thickening at Crosby Place, the council continued to meet at the Tower to plan the coronation. Lord William Hastings, the loyal Lord Chamberlain -- newly appointed Master of the Mint at the Tower -- was steering the arrangements. Richard used the lawyer Catesby to sound out Hastings -- the one man who could conceivably stop his assumption of power -- over his attitude to him seizing the Crown. Ever loyal to his dead friend and his son -- he had even taken over Edward IV's mistress, Jane Shore, from his late master -- Hastings indignantly rejected the idea of supplanting Edward's son and heir. . . ." (Tower: An Epic History of the Tower of London: 141)
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Kitty Fisher and parrot |
Kitty's Profile.
"Kitty Fisher, born probably Catherine Fischer around 1741 into the family of a struggling German artisan in Soho, became one of the most famous women on the late 1750s, painted several times by Joshua Reynolds, the subject of satirical verse and Grub Street 'memoirs'. She was apprenticed as a milliner, that dangerous trade, where it seems she fell victim to a dashing army officer. She then moved from one wealthy keeper to another. Her name was connected to the Duke of York, Lord Montfort, the Earls of Sandwich, Harrington, Poulett and Pembroke. . . . " (A Great and Monstrous Thing: 376)
Kitty's physical appearance and personal qualities.
Kitty's physical appearance and personal qualities.
" . . . Kitty Fisher was a notorious courtesan, but all the men admired, and many of the women envied her. From a physical point of view there was reason for the for the universal admiration, since she was a beautiful girl, though slight, her figure was moulded in graceful curves, and her limbs possessed the roundness and elasticity of perfect health. Her ripe, provoking lips and saucy tilted nose gave her face an expression of roguery, but when she chose the look would soften, and a glance of childish innocence stole into her grey-blue eyes. Dainty to the fingertips, she was always attired with consummate taste, and no woman was more clever in choosing a gown to suit her style of beauty. . . . " (Ladies Fair and Frail: sketches of the Demi-monde during the Eighteenth Century: 52)
Kitty's personal & family background.
She was born to John Henry Fisher and Ann Fisher. "Kitty Fisher, born probably Catherine Fischer around 1741 into the family of a struggling German artisan in Soho, became of of the most famous women of the late 1750s, painted several times by Joshua Reynolds, the subject of satirical verse and Grub Street 'memoirs'. She was apprenticed to a milliner, that dangerous trade, where it seems she fell victim to a dashing army officer. She then moved from one wealthy keeper to another. Her name was connected to the Duke of York, Lord Montfort, the Earls of Sandwich, Harrington, Poulett and Pembroke. . . ." (London In The Eighteenth Century: A Great and Monstrous Thing: 376)
She was born to John Henry Fisher and Ann Fisher. "Kitty Fisher, born probably Catherine Fischer around 1741 into the family of a struggling German artisan in Soho, became of of the most famous women of the late 1750s, painted several times by Joshua Reynolds, the subject of satirical verse and Grub Street 'memoirs'. She was apprenticed to a milliner, that dangerous trade, where it seems she fell victim to a dashing army officer. She then moved from one wealthy keeper to another. Her name was connected to the Duke of York, Lord Montfort, the Earls of Sandwich, Harrington, Poulett and Pembroke. . . ." (London In The Eighteenth Century: A Great and Monstrous Thing: 376)
Kitty's spouse & children.
" . . . After a spectacular career, Fisher married John Norris on October 25, 1766. Norris (1760-1811) was 'the MP for Rye from 1762-1774, captain or governor of Deal Castle from 1766-1774, and son of John Norris, former MP and landowner; or Hemsted, Beneden, Kent.'"(Nightwalkers: Prostitute Narratives from the Eighteenth Century: 69)
Kitty's liaisons.
" . . . She is said to have had liaisons with the minor politician Sir Thomas Medlycott; George, Baron Anson of Soberton, the admiral; Thomas Bromley, second Baron Montfort, a notorious spendthrift; Joseph Salvador, merchant; and John Montagu, fourth earl of Sandwich, the politician. The 'Tete-tete' series in the Town and Country Magazine claimed that two leading army officers, Field Marshal John, Earl Ligonier, and William Stanhope, second earl of Harrington, had affairs with her because she was the most prominent courtesan at the time. Despite her popularity among noblemen, only two were reported ever to have considered marrying her, and both---John, second Earl Poulett, and Henry Herbert, tenth earl of Pembroke---were said to have thought better of the idea, although the latter (who would have to have first met her at an early stage in her career, as he married in 1756) allegedly paid her an annuity of 1000 pounds. . . She was next recorded as living with a young gentleman, Mr. Chetwynd, passing as his housekeeper Mrs. Brown, until his death from consumption in the south of France." (ODNB)
Kitty's titled 'conquests'.
Kitty's titled 'conquests'.
" . . . Kitty Fisher (c1741-1767) became famous enough to have her portrait painted by Joshua Reynolds and Nathaniel Hone as a result of operating as a high-class mistress to some of the country's elite. Her everyday adventures were reported in sketches and her activities mocked in satires, and her biography told in The Uncommon Adventures of Miss Kitty Fisher (1759). Which particular affair first led Fisher to life as mistress to some of the richest men in Europe has been the subject of much contention, but from around 1758 she reigned as one of the most celebrated figures of her day. Titled men among her conquests were Sir Thomas Medleycott; Thomas Bromley, second Baron Montfort; Admiral George Anson, Baron of Soberton; John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich; and William Stanhope, second Earl of Harrington. Fisher was introduced to Casanova when he was in London and he said of her that she chatted like a magpie. He recalled a similar anecdote of Fisher to that told of Murray eating a 20 pound banknote in contempt of an offer made for her services, but with Fisher the value of the note had risen to 1,000 guineas, perhaps showing the different sums of money each could demand." (Amatory Pleasures: Explorations in Eighteenth-Century Sexual Culture)
Her lovers were:
Her lovers were:
1) Anthony George Martin (d.1800)
Later Lieutenant-General.
Son of: An English merchant & Portuguese mistress.
" . . . A pretty woman who served behind a milliner's counter was regarded as a natural prey of the rake and procuress. Before long poor Kitty had been singled out as 'a new face,' and many gay sparks dropped into the shop on the pretence of buying a ribbon or a pair of gloves in order to chat with her. One of these new acquaintances proved more persistent than the rest, and soon, alas, she began to have a liking for her admirer. He was an ensign in the army, Anthony George Martin by name, the natural son of an English merchant by a Portuguese mistress, and his handsome features and fresh rosy face had earned for him the nickname of 'The Military Cupid.'" (Ladies Fair and Frail: 65)
"Lieut.-Gen. Anthony George Martin, who died in May, 1800, at his house in Leicester Square, was, when a young man, considered by the ladies so handsome as to be called by the the 'Military Cupid.' He had the reputation of introducing Kitty Fisher into public life. His connection with her was broken off in consequence of his restricted means, he being then only an ensign, but she retained during life her partiality for him, and for his sake was always ready to quit the most wealthy and elevated of her admirers. (Gent. Mag. Aug. 1800)". (Notes and Queries: 81)
" . . . Her career as a courtesan allegedly began after she was seduced and then deserted by Ensign (later Lieutenant-General) Anthony George Martin. . . ." (ONDB)
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| Augustus Keppel 1st Viscount Keppel @Wikiart |
2) Augustus Keppel (1725-1786)
British aristocrat & admiral.
1st Viscount 1782.
Son of: Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle & Lady Anne Lennox, daughter of 1st Duke of Richmond.
Son of: Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle & Lady Anne Lennox, daughter of 1st Duke of Richmond.
". . . Her next lover was Captain Augustus Keppel of the House of Albemarle, and soon 'it was whispered that Admiral Lord Anson had been captivated by her charms, that General Ligonier was one of her warmest admirers. Thus she was reputed to enjoy the patronage of the foremost sailor and most popular soldier in Great Britain. . . . " (Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London)
" . . . The Town and Country Magazine for September 1771, however, claimed that Captain (later Admiral) Augustus Keppel first launched her career. . . ." (ODNB)
" . . . There are various accounts of her first appearance as a courtesan, the most reliable probably being the scandalous memoir of Admiral Keppel and another courtesan named Mrs. Welsh, printed in the Town and Country Magazine four years after Kitty Fisher's death. According to this, it was Commodore Keppel, a friend of Reynolds, who took notice of the eighteen-year-old beauty but, though he supported her 'in a state of sumptuous affluence,' she moved on. It is to this memoir that we owe the story that Kitty died 'a martyr to the cosmetic art, at a time when she had least occasion to rish her health in promoting her beauty, having married a man of family and fortune.' This memoir also reiterates the leitmotif of the satirical literature on Kitty Fisher, namely her greed. The most celebrated manifestation of this, hearsay though it be, is enshrined in Casanova's typically boastful account of his meeting with Kitty and is worth quoting in full: 'We went to the Walsh woman, where the celebrated Kitty Fisher came to wait for the Duke of xx who was to take her to a ball. She had an over a hundred thousand crowns' worth of diamonds. Goudar told me I could seize the opportunity to have her for ten guineas, but I did not want to do so. She was charming, but she spoke only English. Accustomed to loving with all my senses, I could not indulge in love without including my sense of hearing. La Walsh told us that it was at her house that she swallowed a hundred-pound bank note on a slice of buttered bread which Sir Richard Atkins, brother of the beautiful Mrs. Pitt gave her. Thus did the Phryne make a present to the Bank of London.'" (The Lives of Kitty Fisher)
" . . . The Town and Country Magazine for September 1771, however, claimed that Captain (later Admiral) Augustus Keppel first launched her career. . . ." (ODNB)
" . . . There are various accounts of her first appearance as a courtesan, the most reliable probably being the scandalous memoir of Admiral Keppel and another courtesan named Mrs. Welsh, printed in the Town and Country Magazine four years after Kitty Fisher's death. According to this, it was Commodore Keppel, a friend of Reynolds, who took notice of the eighteen-year-old beauty but, though he supported her 'in a state of sumptuous affluence,' she moved on. It is to this memoir that we owe the story that Kitty died 'a martyr to the cosmetic art, at a time when she had least occasion to rish her health in promoting her beauty, having married a man of family and fortune.' This memoir also reiterates the leitmotif of the satirical literature on Kitty Fisher, namely her greed. The most celebrated manifestation of this, hearsay though it be, is enshrined in Casanova's typically boastful account of his meeting with Kitty and is worth quoting in full: 'We went to the Walsh woman, where the celebrated Kitty Fisher came to wait for the Duke of xx who was to take her to a ball. She had an over a hundred thousand crowns' worth of diamonds. Goudar told me I could seize the opportunity to have her for ten guineas, but I did not want to do so. She was charming, but she spoke only English. Accustomed to loving with all my senses, I could not indulge in love without including my sense of hearing. La Walsh told us that it was at her house that she swallowed a hundred-pound bank note on a slice of buttered bread which Sir Richard Atkins, brother of the beautiful Mrs. Pitt gave her. Thus did the Phryne make a present to the Bank of London.'" (The Lives of Kitty Fisher)
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Edward Augustus Duke of York |
Lover in 1759
". . . She was better known for showing her contempt for the Duke of York by eating the 'present' he left after a night in her bed. . . ." (Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London)
" . . . One successful 'toast' was Kitty Fisher, 'indebted to nature for an uncommon portion of beauty, judgement, and wit, joined in a most agreeable and captivating vivacity'. Kitty, who posed for a Sir Joshua Reynolds as Cleopatra, was well aware of her value: she charged a hundred guineas a night and she was never without admirers, including the Duke of York, who left 50 pounds on her dressing table one morning, a tip she found so derisory that she refused to see him ever again, then stuck the banknote between two slices of bread and butter and ate it for breakfast. . . ." (City of Sin: London and its Vices)
5) George Anson, Baron Anson of Soberton.
British admiral
"Presently, her ambition was more fully realised. It was whispered that Admiral Lord Anson had been captivated by her charms, that General Ligonier was one of her warmest admirers. Thus, she was reputed to enjoy the patronage of the foremost sailor and the most popular soldier in Great Britain. . . ." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 68)
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| George, 6th Earl of Coventry |
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| Henry, 10th Earl of Pembroke @Wikipedia |
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John Montagu 4th Earl of Sandwich |
9) John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.
10) John Norris
MP for Rye.
"Soon afterwards Kitty made the acquaintance of John Norris, junior, the son of a Kentish landowner, who in 1762 had been returned as member of parliament for Rye, a Sussex borough which his father and grandfather had represented in succession. . . This John Norris, in whom Kitty Fisher had found her affinity, was a year or two younger than herself. His grandfather, Sir John Norris, Vice-Admiral of England, had been a stout British sailor, and the hero of a hundred stubborn fights, a rugged sea-dog known as 'Foul-weather Jack,' while his father, who was compelled by ill-health to retire from parliament, had succeeded to the family's estate of Hemsted in Kent, where he lived the life of a country squire in a stately Elizabethan mansion. . . Unhappily, Kitty's admirer had proved degenerate. . . Devoted to the pleasures of the metropolis, and the slave of a passion for play, he was soon plunged deep in debt. Then, while his friends were lamenting these follies they were horrified to hear that the recreant heir had formed a liaison with the notorious Kitty Fisher. It seemed the crowning-point of his ruin." (Ladies Fair & Frail: 86)
". . . The marriage, it is suggested, took place in Scotland to prevent the interference of the groom's parents; Norris was regarded as a degenerate and, it is said,having made his mistress his wife, he was reformed with her assistance. . . . " (Pinton)
"She dropped out of the cyprian scene, and in 1766 married her current lover, John Norris, son of a Kent landowner. He was MP for Rye and governor of Deal Castle, a heavy gambler and deep in debt. Under Fisher's influence he mended his ways, and his father invited them to live with him at Hemsted Park, near Benenden. . . . " (Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London)
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Thomas Bromley 2nd Baron Montfort |
12) Thomas Bromley, 2nd Baron Montfort (1733-1799)
British politician
". . . There are many other tales of Fisher's extravagance, some doubtless embellished by jealous gentlewomen who resented Fisher's hold on their husbands. They also told stories meant to ridicule her. One was about Lord Mountford (sic), a diminutive peer who called at her house in New Norfolk Street one evening and found Kitty dressed, patched and powdered ready for an evening at the opera. As he was a good customer she let him in, although she was waiting for her escort, Lord Sandwich, to arrive. As Mountford was about to leave Sandwich's steps were heard on the stairs. The girl raised a corner of her huge hoop petticoat and told the tiny Mountfort (sic) to slip inside. She chatted with Sandwich until it was time to leave. She then went into an adjoining room, released Mountfort (sic) and went on to the opera." (Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London)
13) Sir Thomas Medlycott.
a minor politician.
". . . She went to work in a milliner's, was picked up and seduced by a handsome young ensign named Martin who was known, we are assured, as 'the military Cupid'. When he was posted abroad she took up with a wealthy landowner named Medlycott who had previously pursued Maria Gunning, who rejected him and became the Countess of Coventry, and the actress Peg Woffington. Medlycott introduced Fisher to the pleasure of society -- masquerades at the Opera House, concerts in the Rotunda at Ranelagh where she took supper in one of the boxes in the vast hall, tea at Marlebone Gardens, promenading at Islington Spa. Medlycott could afford to dress her in the latest fashions and inevitably she caught the eye of wealthier and socially more important men. . . . " (Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London)
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| Laura Bell |
(1829-1894).
British courtesan & evangelist.
" . . . The demi-mondaine Laura Bell, on the other hand, was looking for eventual marriage and respectability. She made her London debut in 1850, having established her reputation as a courtesan in Dublin, where she had a barouche of her own (a two-seat, four-wheeled carriage with a folding top) drawn by two white horses. After two years of being a favourite of the London 'swells' with money to burn, as well as being the mistress of an Indian prince, she married Augustus Thistlethwayte, grandson of a bishop, and became an evangelical preacher. But she continued to be wildly extravagant, and her husband had eventually to announce that he would not in future be responsible for her debts." (Victorian Women: 224)
Her lover was:
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| Maharaj Jung in London in 1850 |
.jpg) |
| H.E. General Sir Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana Prime Minister & Commander-in-Chief of Nepal |
1) Jang Bahadur Rana (1816-1877)
Lover in 1849.
Prime Minister of Nepal
Sri Maharaj of Kaski & Lamjung.
" . . . His sixth sense told him he was being closely watched and he turned around slowly to see the loveliest pair of big blue eyes he had ever beholden. Jung was bewitched. The host introduced Jung to the most arrestingly beautiful woman he had laid his eyes upon. She had long, flowing golden locks and strawberry complexion. Her name was Laura Bell. A scandalous love affair ensued that would have far-reaching consequences for Nepal-Britain relations and Jung's own political future back home. Jung Bahadur was captivated by the youthful Irish lass, barely out of her teens but she was a courtesan of first order. Laura in turn was smitten by the aura of Oriental opulence and power personified by Jung Bahadur Rana. British India had lavished on his visit vast sums of money which he in turn now lavished upon Laura. Jung put her up in a fitting residence at Wilton Crescent in the very heart of Belgravia. It is documented that Jung spent £ 250,000.00 on his demimonde the sum of which was later underwritten by Governor General Lord Canning as a sign of further goodwill.." (History Lessons Nepal)
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| Spencer Cavendish 8th Duke of Devonshire |
2) Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (1833-1908)
" . . . The great romance of her life was with Lord Hartington, one of the Devonshire family and a leading Whig who with Gladstone fashioned the modern Liberal Party which was in power in England almost continuously from 1846 until 1874 . . . " (From Whoredom to Evangelism)
3) William Wilde
Father of Oscar Wilde:
3) William Wilde
Father of Oscar Wilde:
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