Letters of Harriet, Countess Granville, 1810-1845: Edited By Her Son the Hon, F. Leveson Gower, Vol. 1 of 2 (Classic Reprint)

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Whenever she became pregnant, she would simply escape to a friend’s country home for months at a time. Duncannon probably never even noticed she was gone. At the age of twelve, Harriet joined her father’s household in Staffordshire and was included as part of his family. After accompanying him to the Netherlands, she met and married George Osborne in 1824 with whom she had eleven children, but died before he became the 8th Duke of Leeds. Some Old Time Beauties by Thomson Willing Featuring a different version of her picture as well as written material on her reputation. One more piece was published in the last years of Georgiana's life, The Passage of the Mountain of Saint Gothard, first in an unauthorised version in the 'Morning Chronicle' and 'Morning Post' of 20 and 21 December 1799, then in a privately printed edition in 1800. A poem dedicated to her children, The Passage of the Mountain of Saint Gothard was based on her passage of the Saint Gotthard Pass, with Bess, between 10 and 15 August 1793 on returning to England. The thirty-stanza poem, together with 28 extended notes, was translated into some of the main languages of Western Europe including into French, by Jacques Delille, in 1802; Italian, by Gaetano Polidori, in 1803; and German in 1805. The Passage of the Mountain of Saint Gothard was then reprinted in 1816, after Georgiana's death. [21] Samuel Taylor Coleridge published a glowing response to the poem, 'Ode to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire' in the 'Morning Post' on 24 December 1799.

George Godolphin Osborne, 9th Duke of Leeds (11 August 1828 – 23 December 1895); married the Honourable Frances Georgiana Pitt-Rivers, daughter of George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers. Furness, Charlotte (2018). Lady of the House: Elite 19th Century Women and their Role in the English Country House. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-52670-274-6. Lady Blanche Georgiana Howard (11 January 1812 – 27 April 1840) she married William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire on 6 August 1829. They have five children. On a bitter February morning in 1782, Duncannon returned home in an apoplectic rage. He informed Harriet that he had lost a massive amount of money in a bad game of faro. Lady Caroline Georgiana Howard (24 June 1803 – 27 November 1881) she married William Lascelles on 14 May 1823. They have nine children.Her second biggest—and by far her most ruinous—affair was with the Irish writer, charmer and theater owner, Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Osborne inherited his father's title of Baron Godolphin in 1850, making Harriet Baroness Godolphin, known as "Lady Godolphin". She died at the family home in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire, [21] on 28 October 1852, seven years before Osborne succeeded his cousin as the 8th Duke of Leeds. Osborne did not marry again and died on 8 August 1872, after which their eldest surviving son George Godolphin succeeded to the dukedom. [15] A hatchment of the Duke's arms on his death survives; unusually, for a Duke, his wife is shown as having no right to inherit her own coat of arms (because of her illegitimate birth) and yet this is not glossed over by omitting the place for her arms on the hatchment. Instead, the hatchment shows decorative swirls on the wife's side (the right-hand side) of the shield of arms where her own paternal arms would otherwise have been. [31] Issue [ edit ] a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 11 June 2022.The first of her published literary works was Emma; Or, The Unfortunate Attachment: A Sentimental Novel in 1773. Askwith, Betty (1982). Piety and Wit: A Biography of Harriet Countess Granville 1785–1862. William Collins Sons & Co. ISBN 0-00-216258-X. In modern times, her life's circumstances are seen as an example of female oppression by historical, cultural and legal constructs favoring male interests while denying rights to the female party in a relationship. They have become the subject of scholarly and dramatised works. [3] [24] In literature [ edit ] Harriet's life changed quite significantly in August 1812, when she was brought to live in her father's household at Tixall Hall in Staffordshire. [9] At first this was meant to be a temporary visit, but Leveson-Gower's new wife Lady Harriet, who was a niece of her mother and first cousin to Harriet, took to the girl and wished her to stay, describing her as "a most amiable little creature and though she has nothing precose about her, her intelligence and docility make her a very delightful companion." [10] "Little Harriet", as she was known, was loved and included as one of the family, which contained five younger half-siblings as well as her brother George Arundel Stewart. [11] [12] She was never informed of her true parentage, and referred to Leveson-Gower as "her guardian." [13] Marriage and later life [ edit ] a b Taylor, Ella (25 September 2008). "Lady Georgiana Spencer, cheated in life and in casting, in The Duchess". Westword . Retrieved 13 June 2016.

Foreman, Amanda (2004). "Ponsonby [née Spencer], Henrietta Frances [Harriet], countess of Bessborough (1761–1821), She was called a "phenomenon" [7] by Horace Walpole who proclaimed, "[she] effaces all without being a beauty; but her youthful figure, flowing good nature, sense and lively modesty, and modest familiarity make her a phenomenon". [21] Madame d'Arblay, who had a preference for acquaintances of talent, found that her appeal was not generally for her beauty but for far more, which included her fine "manner, politeness, and gentle quiet." [21] Sir Nathaniel Wraxall stated that her success as an individual lay "in the amenity and graces of her deportment, in her irresistible manners, and the seduction of her society." [21] She was the great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Their lives, centuries apart, have been compared in tragedy. [3] She was also a great-great-great-aunt of Elizabeth II by marriage through the queen's maternal grandmother. By 1791, Duncannon’s mistreatment of Harriet had gotten so bad that people began to suspect the worst.The Honorable Granville William Leveson-Gower (28 September 1816 – 26 May 1833); he died unmarried. The Leveson-Gowers regularly attended large gatherings and parties at country houses. As Granville was gregarious and social, Harriet worked to be a great hostess; she was also a welcome guest when visiting others. [75] Her letters reveal her amusement at those around her, particularly during the visits of dissimilar guests to Wherstead, where they hosted frequently. [76] After one visit to Tixall Hall, Charles Greville – her normally hypercritical cousin – wrote that he could not "remember so agreeable a party", and described Harriet as possessing "a great deal of genius, humour, strong feelings, enthusiasm, delicacy, refinement, good taste, naïveté which just misses being affectation, and a bonhomie which extends to all around her". [71] Unsure of what to do, he wrote to their mother saying, “Harriet was quite at a loss, as well she might, and was very apprehensive of the consequences of his disappointment”. Her mother, however, was less concerned. Harriet’s parents had a loving and lasting marriage. Her mother thought that her father was “handsomer than an angel,” and even wrote to her friend, “I will own it, and never deny it that I do love Spencer above all men on Earth”. But despite all the love in the house, Harriet received very little of it. In fact, she received basically none of it.

Georgiana was charismatic, generous, good-humored, and intelligent. Kindhearted, Georgiana instinctively wanted to help others and from a young age, happily gave her money to poor children [8] or to her desperate friends. Lady Charlotte Bury wrote of Georgiana's generosity: "when some individual came to her in pecuniary distress, she would always relieve him or her, and leave her own difficulties unprovided for. Oftentimes she was wrong in doing so. ... One must be just before one is generous. But it is impossible not to be charmed by the kindly impulse which made her, without a moment's hesitating, shield another from distress." [9] Georgiana's empathy extended towards animals as well. After noticing a starving cow in a field, Georgiana deduced its owner could not afford to feed it; she had the man found and gave him some money. [10] Over 1,000 personal letters written by the Duchess of Devonshire remain in existence. Chatsworth, the duke of Devonshire's seat, houses a majority of her letters in historical archives. [6]Unexpectedly, one of Harriet Spencer's former flames reappeared in her life—and turned it upside down. Sheridan, perhaps emboldened by his old age and driven mad by love, began stalking and harassing Harriet. Harriet’s mother eventually grew tired of her youngest daughter’s sad disposition and thought that “foreign air” might cure her. The consequences were stunning.