Your kind & charming letter, my dear Sir William ElfordWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

was exceedingly welcome to me. I shall obey  ofyou in all my best—but you & Mrs ElfordMary Davies Elford, or: Mrs. Elford | Born: 1753. Died: 1807-08-02.
Mary Davies was the first wife of Sir William Elford; they married on January 20, 1776 in Plympton . Together they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. She was the daughter of the Rev. John Davies and Mary Chard of Plympton. Birth and death dates unverified by primary source records, and her son Jonathan’s will gives her name as Jane Mary. Additional research needed.—ajc, lmw will spoil not only me but my letters by your exquisite kindness—If once you make me think for a moment of what I am going to say—I am undone & you will get a petrifaction—a fine specimen of the Lithographic art instead of the nonsense you are so good as to like.—We agree completely respecting the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
—her defence seems to me to strengthen the evidence—& I am convinced that 10 years hence every body will be of our opinion. It will never be a disputed point in history like the guilt of Queen Mary of ScotlandMary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Queen consort of France, or: Queen of Scots Queen consort of France | Born: 1542-12 in Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, Scotland . Died: 1587-02-08 in Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England.
Daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise, Mary Stuart acceded to the throne as Mary I of Scotland at six days old. Mary, Queen of Scots was executed by the order of Queen Elizabeth I. She was succeeded by her son, James I, later the first Stuart king of England and Scotland.—rnes, lmw
—Indeed I rather think that except Mrs. DickinsonCatherine Dickinson Allingham | Born: 1787 in Middlesex, England. Died: 1861-09-02 in St. Marylebone, Middlesex, England.
Catherine Allingham was the daughter of Thomas Allingham. She married Charles Dickinson on August 2, 1807 at St. Giles, South Mimms, Middlesex. They lived in Swallowfield, where their daughter Frances was born, and where they were visited by the Mitford family. According to Mitford, Catherine Dickinson was fond of match-making among her friends and acquaintances. (See Mitford's February 8th, 1821 letter to Elford . Her husband Charles died in 1827, when her daughter was seven. Source: L'Estrange). —ajc, lmw & that part of the "reading public" called the mob every body is of the same opinion now. I have not the least notion that the Whigsthe Whig party | Whigs
In Mitford's lifetime, the Whigs developed into a formalized political party under the leadership of Charles James Fox, standing in opposition to the party. George Mitford and Mitfordsupported Whig and liberal candidates and causes. A number of Whig politicians subscribed to Mitford's early poems.—lmw think her innocent or the reformers either—they treat it as a mere party question—an engine for dislodging & heaving out the Ministry—& they ought to be ashamed of themselves for confounding the great moral distinctions of right & wrong to attain their own ambitious ends. I have done with them. And I beg you of all love, my dear Sir WilliamWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

, never to call me "Miss Whig" again. In the mean time I am heartily glad that the cause is over. It is no great triumph God knows to the Guilty—& the cessation & laying to rest of the subject will be the greatest possible comfort & relief to all sane persons. Of late one really could not stir without being haunted with it—People breathed an Atmosphere ofpage 2
impurity, & some persons  really became so hardened to the improprieties of the topic as to say with perfect unconsciousness things exceedingly distressing to hear. Our dear friend Dr. ValpyRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
for instance got so used to talk in the style of the Queen's Trial, that his daughters have been several times obliged to leave the breakfast table &  really regarded the unfolding of a newspaper as a signal for quitting the room. To be sure the dear & excellent DoctorRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
is not very particular. He brought a fair neighbour of your'syours into a curious scrape the other day—If you will promise to be very discreet & not repeat it to any one who will tell the R owes I will tell it you. You promise? Well Miss R[gap: 3 chars, reason: smudged.][owe]—Hannah—Glumdalclitch as Miss JamesElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw used to call her, is staying in the Forbury & they have had in ReadingReading, Berkshire, England | Reading | Berkshire | England | 51.4542645 -0.9781302999999753 County town in Berkshire, in the Thames valley at the confluence of the Thames and the River Kennet. The town developed as a river port and in Mitford’s time served as a staging point on the Bath Road and was developing into a center of manufacturing. Mitford lived here with her parents from 1791 to 1795, on Coley Avenue in the parish of St. Mary’s and attended the Abbey School. The family returned to Reading from 1797 to about 1804, after which they relocated to Bertram House. They frequently visited Reading thereafter from their homes at nearby Bertram House, Three Mile Cross and Swallowfield. Mitford later used scenes from Reading as the basis for Belford Regis; or Sketches of a Country Town.—lmw an Itinerant Lecturer—a showman of the sciences—whose lectures were attended by all the house of Valpythe Valpys | Valpy family | Valpy
Dr. Richard Valpy and his family, including his first and second wife, his daughters, including Penelope and Catherine one or more of whom were friends with with Mary Russell Mitford, and his sons, including John Valpy.—ebb & half of the school. Well the last lecture was on Electricity–-one of the boys was electrified–-& the good DoctorRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
before a hundred people very gravely led poor Glumdalclitch up to the youth, & desired him to kiss her by way of communicating the shock & completing the experiment. Luckily the boy was a lad of grace & had too much modesty to comply–-& as to poor Hannah she was quite enough electrified by the proposal. They say it was a curious scene. I did not see it myself–-for I have a horror of those sort of things & hate an electrical apparatus as bad as a gun–-I don’t know why I hate either for I have never been  eithershot or electrified–-but I have run away pretty often from both machines–-I remember when we had Mr. WalkerMr. Walker Walker Mr.
Friend of the Mitfords who visited Bertram House. Forename unknown. Dates unknown.—lmw to give us a course of Lectures at school I absconded from the Electricity-–I scudded away like a hare and I skulked under the bed till the Lecturer & his apparatus were safe out of the house-–& I verily believe I should do the same page 3
tomorrow rather than stay–-only that I have now sufficient moral courage to own my fear.-–To return to our friend the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
. I heard the other day a curious story of the way in which the “ladies address processions” are got up. Mrs. Bartley the actress was at her Mantua Makers giving some orders & observed an unusual hurry scurry about the house–-at last a coach & four stopped at the door & four gaily dressed women got into it-–one of whom was very handsome.  at lastWhen the Mantua Maker came to her she apologised for detaining her & explained the bustle by saying, that some customers of hers had requested she would lend some finery to the persons whom they should send ^& who were to fill a carriage in one of the Brandenburgh House processions that accordingly she had decked out these females [del: .]  who were to be returned safely to herwho on their return were to be stripped of their borrowed plumage & that the woman whom Mrs Bartley admired so much was a person, & to whom she had trusted the most valuable of the dresses, (a French silk richly flowered with lace) knowing her to be exceedingly honest & careful-–she (the Mantua Maker) had known her for many years-–she kept an apple stall at the corner of the street!—pretty Addressers are they not?—When I said that Mrs DickinsonCatherine Dickinson Allingham | Born: 1787 in Middlesex, England. Died: 1861-09-02 in St. Marylebone, Middlesex, England.
Catherine Allingham was the daughter of Thomas Allingham. She married Charles Dickinson on August 2, 1807 at St. Giles, South Mimms, Middlesex. They lived in Swallowfield, where their daughter Frances was born, and where they were visited by the Mitford family. According to Mitford, Catherine Dickinson was fond of match-making among her friends and acquaintances. (See Mitford's February 8th, 1821 letter to Elford . Her husband Charles died in 1827, when her daughter was seven. Source: L'Estrange). —ajc, lmw was the only living woman who believed the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
innocent I did not mean to accuse Lady [del: .] Madelina PalmerMadelina Madalina Sinclair Palmer, the Lady, or: Lady M.P., Lady Mad., Lady Madelina Palmer | Born: 1772-06-19 in Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Died: 1847 in Chapel Street, Grosvenor Place, London, England.
Lady Madelina Gordon was born on June 10, 1772, the daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, and Jane Maxwell, at Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Her first husband was Robert Sinclair, 7th Baronet Sinclair; they married in 1789 and had one child, John Gordon Sinclair. Her second husband was the Reading Whig politician Charles Fyshe Palmer. They married in 1805 at Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Herefordshire. They lived at Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire and at East Court, Finchampstead, Berkshire. Through her siblings, Lady Madelina was connected to several of the most influential aristocratic families in the country. Her sister Charlotte Gordon became Duchess of Richmond through her marriage to Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox and 4th Duke of Aubigny. Her sister Susan Gordon became Duchess of Manchester through her marriage to William Montagu, Duke of Manchester. Her sister Louise Gordon became Marchioness Cornwallis through marriage to Charles Cornwallis, Marquess of Cornwallis. Her sister Georgiana Gordon became Duchess of Bedford through marriage to John Russell, Duke of Bedford. Her brothers were George Duncan Gordon, who became 5th Duke of Gordon, and Lord Alexander Gordon. Charles Fyshe Palmer’s marriage to Lady Madelina thus gained him access to aristocratic houses, including the Holland House. Lady Madelina’s name is variously spelled Madelina and Madalina, although Madelina appears to be the more common and standard spellling of the name, as an anglicization of the French Madeline. For more on the Palmers, see note 2 in The Browning’s Correspondence rendering of Mitford’s letter of 12 March 1842 to Elizabeth Barrett Browning .—kab, ebb, ad, lmw of saying the thing that is not[1] "The thing that is not" is an allusion to Gulliver's Travels— But her Ladyship is I doubt not a little led away by party spirit and by the sort of indulgence which women of fashion extend to those cases-–& when she says she thinks the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
innocent she means a very different sort of innocence from Mrs DickinsonCatherine Dickinson Allingham | Born: 1787 in Middlesex, England. Died: 1861-09-02 in St. Marylebone, Middlesex, England.
Catherine Allingham was the daughter of Thomas Allingham. She married Charles Dickinson on August 2, 1807 at St. Giles, South Mimms, Middlesex. They lived in Swallowfield, where their daughter Frances was born, and where they were visited by the Mitford family. According to Mitford, Catherine Dickinson was fond of match-making among her friends and acquaintances. (See Mitford's February 8th, 1821 letter to Elford . Her husband Charles died in 1827, when her daughter was seven. Source: L'Estrange). —ajc, lmw, who really believes her to be as pure as the unsunned snow. Lady M. PMadelina Madalina Sinclair Palmer, the Lady, or: Lady M.P., Lady Mad., Lady Madelina Palmer | Born: 1772-06-19 in Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Died: 1847 in Chapel Street, Grosvenor Place, London, England.
Lady Madelina Gordon was born on June 10, 1772, the daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, and Jane Maxwell, at Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Her first husband was Robert Sinclair, 7th Baronet Sinclair; they married in 1789 and had one child, John Gordon Sinclair. Her second husband was the Reading Whig politician Charles Fyshe Palmer. They married in 1805 at Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Herefordshire. They lived at Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire and at East Court, Finchampstead, Berkshire. Through her siblings, Lady Madelina was connected to several of the most influential aristocratic families in the country. Her sister Charlotte Gordon became Duchess of Richmond through her marriage to Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox and 4th Duke of Aubigny. Her sister Susan Gordon became Duchess of Manchester through her marriage to William Montagu, Duke of Manchester. Her sister Louise Gordon became Marchioness Cornwallis through marriage to Charles Cornwallis, Marquess of Cornwallis. Her sister Georgiana Gordon became Duchess of Bedford through marriage to John Russell, Duke of Bedford. Her brothers were George Duncan Gordon, who became 5th Duke of Gordon, and Lord Alexander Gordon. Charles Fyshe Palmer’s marriage to Lady Madelina thus gained him access to aristocratic houses, including the Holland House. Lady Madelina’s name is variously spelled Madelina and Madalina, although Madelina appears to be the more common and standard spellling of the name, as an anglicization of the French Madeline. For more on the Palmers, see note 2 in The Browning’s Correspondence rendering of Mitford’s letter of 12 March 1842 to Elizabeth Barrett Browning .—kab, ebb, ad, lmw’s notion of an innocent QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
is probably, not very guilty-–Now Mrs DickinsonCatherine Dickinson Allingham | Born: 1787 in Middlesex, England. Died: 1861-09-02 in St. Marylebone, Middlesex, England.
Catherine Allingham was the daughter of Thomas Allingham. She married Charles Dickinson on August 2, 1807 at St. Giles, South Mimms, Middlesex. They lived in Swallowfield, where their daughter Frances was born, and where they were visited by the Mitford family. According to Mitford, Catherine Dickinson was fond of match-making among her friends and acquaintances. (See Mitford's February 8th, 1821 letter to Elford . Her husband Charles died in 1827, when her daughter was seven. Source: L'Estrange). —ajc, lmw would page 3
I am convinced stake her own existence or her baby’s uponm the perfect purity of the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
’s every thought & word & action. I should think this a false perception & be afraid that my dear Friend was upon this subject a little diseased, if I did not know that she has an instinct of credulity a power of believing such as no mortal ever possessed. She does not know what doubt means. Every word that is said she believes au pied de la lettre. The common forms of politeness, the dearest Madam-–& your faithful humble servant find in her the most absolute faith-–This is a very amiable mistake-–resulting from her own singular truth & frankness-–but it’s a very troublesome one to some of her stiff proud neighbuors, whose drawings-balk, & civil subterfuges she oversets at a blow by not understanding them-–lugs gouty people out of their carriages who only meant to leave a card & “were sorry they had no time to alight?”-–& furnishes with requests to fix his own day, an excuse-making Grandee who had called to express his regret that he could not attend her dinner party—“Well then why won’t you stay to day"—was her last answer to his last apology—& the luckless Illustrissimo ran away-–as I did from the electrification. “How sorry he was not to be able to stay-–how extremely unlucky that he is so engaged-–he’s a very polite man, and would be very glad to be a good neighbour” was all her remark. Her faith in human truth is incorrigible, and as she reads an opposition paper, no wonder she believes in the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
-–the only chance was that the Attorney GeneralHenry Peter Brougham 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux Lord Chancellor | Born: 1778-09-19 in Cowgate, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland . Died: 1868-05-07 in Cannes, France.
One of the founders of the Edinburgh Review. Practiced law in Edinburgh and London. Whig reformer and member of Parliament; known for political, educational and legal reforms. While Lord Chancellor in the 1830s, he oversaw the Representation of the People Act of 1832 (voting reforms), the Slavery Abolition Act of 1832 (abolishing slavery throughout the British empire), and established the Central Criminal Court. Chief legal advisor to Queen Caroline and defended her in 1820. Designer of the fashionable four-wheeled carriage that bears his name. Helped popularize Cannes as a seaside resort.—lmw
might have gained her by having the first word-–but Alderman Wood had [del: .] her before.-–By the way have you read a clever little joke upon the aforesaid Alderman called Tentamen? Very page 4
well done indeed! The story of Whittington and his cat—applied—as you may guess-–a very clever little book! (By the bye they are illuminating tonight in Reading-–making a terrible tintamarre-–bells ringing-–and a prodigious quantity of popping noises, produced as I conjecture by some little brass things kept by a war-fancying Gentleman who calls them cannon-–and pistols and blunderbusses and what not-–Thank Heaven I am not in that region of squibs and crackers. We don’t illuminate in Three Mile CrossThree Mile Cross, Berkshire, England | Three Mile Cross | Berkshire | England | 51.4047211 -0.9734518999999864 Village in the parish of Shinfield in Berkshire, where Mary Russell Mitford moved with her parents in 1820. They lived in a cottage there until 1851. —ebb-–that enlightened village is wiser.-–Besides Tentamen I have been reading a clever little Poem called Advice to JuliaAdvice to Julia: A Letter in Rhyme. Henry Luttrell. London: John Murray. 1820.
A poem that Mitford mentions reading in her Journal on October 7 1820.—hjb, which but for the abominable bad taste of addressing very graceful pleasant and HoratianQuintus Horatius Flaccus | Born: -0065-12-08 in Venusia, Italy, Roman Republic . Died: -0008-11-27 in Rome, Italy, Roman Republic .
Ancient Roman politician, military leader, poet, and critic.—lmw
verses to a lady of no equivocal character would be a most recommendable book-–and a cleverish work called Essays by a Gentleman who has left his lodgings; [del: .] (skipping the Political Economy which I can’t understand and the English Constitution two words I am tired of)-–and Mrs. Opie's last talesTales of the heart. Amelia Opie. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. 1820.

Mitford mentions that she read this in a Journal entry on 31 October 1820.—hjb-–of which the most certain thing that can be said is that they are exceedingly like her others—just the same things. She has no nice discrimination of character like our two favorites-–& incidents cannot be varied ad infinitum-–so that I should really think she must begin to find herself at a loss how to shew off her good heroines in small acts of generosity, & her bad heroes in killing their fathers and mothers.—Oh how different from Miss AustenJane Austen | Born: 1775-12-16 in Steventon, Hampshire, England. Died: 1817-07-18 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Novelist celebrated for her wit and style, whose works investigated women's social and economic vulnerabilities in English society. During her lifetime she published anonymously. Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815), all anonymously. Northanger Abbey, the first written of her novels (composed in 1798-1799) was published posthumously in 1818 (the title was chosen by surviving family) along with her final completed novel, Persuasion. Mitford claims in a letter to Sir William Elford of 3 April 1815 that she has recently discovered Austen is my countrywoman,, that is, a neighbor. Later in a letter of 2 July 1816 praised Emma in particular among Austen's novels. She and Elford evidently knew the identity of Austen as the author long before the information was public knowledge, and she claims in the April 3 letter that her mother remembered Jane Austen in her youth as the prettiest, silliest, most affected, husband-hunting butterfly she ever remembers, but that Jane was by the 1810s extremely quiet, which impressed Mitford: till Pride and Prejudice showed what a precious gem was hidden in that unbending case, she was no more regarded in society than a poker or a fire-screen, or any other thin upright piece of wood or iron that fills its corner in peace and quietness. The case is very different now; she is still a poker—but a poker of whom every one is afraid. It must be confessed that this silent observation from such an observer is rather formidable. Most writers are good-humoured chatterers—neither very wise nor very witty:—but nine times out of ten (at least in the few that I have known) unaffected and pleasant, and quite removing by their conversation any awe that may have been excited by their works. But a wit, a delineator of character, who does not talk, is terrific indeed! Source: L’Estrange.—ebb, rnes
& Miss EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth | Born: 1768-01-01 in Black Bourton, Oxfordshire, England. Died: 1849-05-22 in Engleworthstown, Longford, Ireland.
British author and educator. Best known for Castle Rackrent (1800); also wrote children's novels and educational treatises.—lmw, cmm
-–Have you read the Critique on Mr. Edgeworth’s lifeMemoirs of Richard Lovell Edgeworth. . London: R. Hunter. 1820.
2 volumes. Full title: Memoirs of Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Esq. begun by himself and concluded by his daughter, Maria Edgeworth. Mitford rated it very good.—lmw in the last QuarterlyQuarterly Review. 1809-1967.
Tory periodical founded by George Canning in 1809, published by John Murray. William Gifford edited the Quarterly Review from its founding in 1809 until 1824, was succeeded briefly by John Taylor Coleridge in 1825, until John Gibson Lockhart took over as editor from 1826 through 1853. Archived at Romantic Circles, Quarterly Review Archive —lmw? There is some truth in what they say of him-–but surely Miss EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth | Born: 1768-01-01 in Black Bourton, Oxfordshire, England. Died: 1849-05-22 in Engleworthstown, Longford, Ireland.
British author and educator. Best known for Castle Rackrent (1800); also wrote children's novels and educational treatises.—lmw, cmm
deserved more respect.-–I don’t think my dear Friend that I quite agreepage 5
with you as to the facility of imitating ScottWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
’s novels—We have had nothing like them yet—& I do not think we soon shall. Consider, with all [del: .] his faults the great & rare qualities that must be united in such a novelist &-–the minute & curious learning which seizes with the [del: .] certainty & ease of accurate knowledge on all the antiquarian detail that suits his purpose. The almost magical power of placing scenes and forms before you as in a picture—& leading you through a changing country which you trace as in a map. (This power of external representation is only equaled by ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer | Born: 1343 in London, England. Died: 1400-10-25 in London, England.
Medieval English poet, philsopher, and astronomer. Author of Canterbury Tales.—lmw
, BocacioBoccacio & as far as scenery goes by SpenserEdmund Spenser | Born: 1552 in London, England. Died: 1599-01-13 in London, England.
Early modern poet and courtier, author of The Faerie Queen. Served in the military in Ireland and was later rewarded with lands confiscated from the Irish. Friend of Walter Raleigh. Buried in Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.—lmw
)—& lastly his various & extraordinary delineations of character. It is quite nonsense to compare him as the Edinburgh ReviewEdinburgh Review, second series. Edinburgh: Constable.
Quarterly political and literary review founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, Henry Brougham, and Francis Horner in 1802 and published by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh. It supported Whig and reformist politics and opposed its Tory and conservative rival, The Quarterly Review. Ceased publication in 1929.—lmwers do to ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare | Born: 1564-04 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. Died: 1616-04-23 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England.
Early modern era actor, theater manager, poet, and playwright. Part owner of playing company The Lord Chamberlain's men and author or co-author of thirty-eight plays. Considered the greatest English dramatist and Britain's national poet. Mitford wrote in the Introduction to her Dramatic Works: I had grown up—it is the privilege of English people to grow up—in the worship of Shakespeare, and many of his favourite scenes I literally knew by heart. —lmw
in this respect and gives one the tendency to underrate him that such extravagant praises by a natural re-action always do-–his Characters have not the exquisite freedom of ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare | Born: 1564-04 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. Died: 1616-04-23 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England.
Early modern era actor, theater manager, poet, and playwright. Part owner of playing company The Lord Chamberlain's men and author or co-author of thirty-eight plays. Considered the greatest English dramatist and Britain's national poet. Mitford wrote in the Introduction to her Dramatic Works: I had grown up—it is the privilege of English people to grow up—in the worship of Shakespeare, and many of his favourite scenes I literally knew by heart. —lmw
’s-–there is too much identity. He is afraid to trust them out of their prescribed bounds. Afraid to let them make any speech which cannot instantly be assigned to the right person. The keeping is too exact to be true to our mixed & varying nature-–but still the characters are finely  del conceived & finely drawn, & there is a noble spirit of humanity an indulgence to human frailty which sets a grand lesson to the world. He makes good ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare | Born: 1564-04 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. Died: 1616-04-23 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England.
Early modern era actor, theater manager, poet, and playwright. Part owner of playing company The Lord Chamberlain's men and author or co-author of thirty-eight plays. Considered the greatest English dramatist and Britain's national poet. Mitford wrote in the Introduction to her Dramatic Works: I had grown up—it is the privilege of English people to grow up—in the worship of Shakespeare, and many of his favourite scenes I literally knew by heart. —lmw
’s most beautiful saying “There is some soul of goodness in things evil.”[2] Henry V, act four, scene one.—lmw & is as far as I know the only writer who has ever had candour & fairness enough to tolerate opposite bigotries. No, my dear Friend. It is not the mere fixing on some peculiar piece of history to illustrate that will produce even in powerful handspage 6
such novels as Walter ScottWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
’s. As to Miss HolfordMargaret Hodgson Holford, or: Miss Holford , Margaret Hodgson | Born: 1778-06-01 in Chester, England. Died: 1852-09-11 in Dawlish, Devon, England.
Associated with Joanna Baillie and Robert Southey. Her mother, also named Margaret Holford (1757–1834), was also an author.—lmw
I don’t think she has the slightest intention to imitate him-–Warbeck of WolfsteinWarbeck of Wolfstein. Margaret Holford. London: Rodwell and Martin. 1820. seems to me an attempt to portray in very black & exaggerated colours the character of Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron | Born: 1788-01-22 in Holles Street, London, England. Died: 1824-04-19 in Missolonghi, Greece.
Romantic-era poet, playwright, and celebrity. English peer after he inherited the Barony of Byron of Rochdale in 1798. He died fighting for independence for Greece. Friend of William Harness.—lmw

-–does it not strike you so? Some of the anecdotes-–that of the role with the ^orange flowers for instance-–are stories which have been currently told of his LordshipGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron | Born: 1788-01-22 in Holles Street, London, England. Died: 1824-04-19 in Missolonghi, Greece.
Romantic-era poet, playwright, and celebrity. English peer after he inherited the Barony of Byron of Rochdale in 1798. He died fighting for independence for Greece. Friend of William Harness.—lmw

, & altogether I am afraid there can be no doubt but it was intended as a portrait. I say afraid-–because Mrs. Joanna BaillieJoanna Baillie | Born: 1762-09-11 in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Died: 1851-02-23 in Hampstead, London, England.
Successful playwright, authored Poems: Wherein It Is Attempted to Describe Certain Views of Nature and of Rustic Manners (1790) and more than twenty-five plays. Her best-known works are included in Plays on the Passions (1798) and were later collected in The Dramatic and Poetical Works of Joanna Baillie(1851). The sister of the physicians and scientists John and William Hunter and the daughter of a Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow, Baillie belonged to an important literary-scientific family that operated as a kinship coterie.—lmw, cmm, rnes
the friend  & protectress of Lady ByronAnnabella Anne Isabella Noel Milbanke, or: Baroness Byron, Baroness Wentworth, Baroness Noel-Byron, A. I. Noel Byron | Born: 1792-05-17 in Elemore Hall, Durham, England. Died: 1860-05-16.
The spouse of George Gordon, Lord Byron, and mother of mathematician Ada Augusta Byron King, Countess of Lovelace. Married in 1815, Lady Byron formally separated from her husband almost a year later, shortly after Ada's birth. She had left her marital household with her child, having endured many of Lord Byron's outbursts, taunts, and (it has been rumored) xexual assault. She encouraged her daughter's mathematical pursuits, engaging the hoted mathematician Augustus de Morgan to instruct her. Late in life, Lady Byron was befriended by an American visitor, Uncle Tom's Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who, after Lady Byron's death, defended her separation from her husband in Lady Byron Vindicated, for which Stowe was widely condemned.—rnes
ought not to have given the sanction of her name to such a libel-–He is quite bad enough, Heaven knows, without being loaded with crimes that do not belong to him. I wonder I did not mention the work to you, which I thought as you do very powerful-–you will have found out by this time that the Zingari was not an old woman, & that the conclusion though rather too combustible to suit my fancy can hardly be called unhappy. (I really think they must be springing a mine in ReadingReading, Berkshire, England | Reading | Berkshire | England | 51.4542645 -0.9781302999999753 County town in Berkshire, in the Thames valley at the confluence of the Thames and the River Kennet. The town developed as a river port and in Mitford’s time served as a staging point on the Bath Road and was developing into a center of manufacturing. Mitford lived here with her parents from 1791 to 1795, on Coley Avenue in the parish of St. Mary’s and attended the Abbey School. The family returned to Reading from 1797 to about 1804, after which they relocated to Bertram House. They frequently visited Reading thereafter from their homes at nearby Bertram House, Three Mile Cross and Swallowfield. Mitford later used scenes from Reading as the basis for Belford Regis; or Sketches of a Country Town.—lmw-–there is such a grand crash every now & then rising out of the hubbub-–“God help them silly one’s”-–as Mr. CanningGeorge Canning, Member of Parliament, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Leader of the House of Commons, President of the Board of Control, Leader of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Navy, or: Member of Parliament Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Leader of the House of Commons President of the Board of Control Leader of the House of Commons Treasurer of the Navy | Born: 1770-04-11 in Marylebone, London, England. Died: 1827-08-08 in Chiswick, London, England.
Tory politician, supporter of William Pitt the Younger, and one of the founders of the political newspaper Anti-Jacobin. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under George IV from 10 April 1827 to 8 August 1827. Chancellor of the Exchequer under George IV from 10 April 1827 to 8 August 1827. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 13 September 1822 to 20 April 1827 and from 25 March 1807 to 11 October 1809. Leader of the House of Commons from 13 September 1822 to 20 April 1827, as successor to his rival Lord Castlereagh. President of the Board of Control (responsible for overseeing the East India Company) from 1816 to 1821. In 1820, he resigned from office in opposition to the treatment of Queen Caroline. Ambassador extraordinary to Portugal from October 1814 to June 1815. Treasurer of the Navy from 10 May 1804 to 23 January 1806. He holds the record for the shortest time in office of any U.K. Prime Minister—119 days. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.—lmw


says in his clever parody of Mr. SoutheyRobert Southey | Born: 1774-08-12 in Bristol, England. Died: 1843-03-21 in London, England.
English poet, historian, essayist, and biographer. Early friend of Coleridge. He was Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843. Mitford mentions reading Southey’s Life of Wesley in her Journal on April 27, 28, and May 9 1820.—lmw, hjb
's ode. Don’t you delight in the “Poetry of the AntijacobinThe Anti-Jacobin, or Weekly Examiner. 1797-11-20-1798-07-09.
Conserative Tory newspaper founded by George Canning whose short run of 36 issues was highly influential in satirizing revolutionary politics.—ebb?)-–Miss HolfordMargaret Hodgson Holford, or: Miss Holford , Margaret Hodgson | Born: 1778-06-01 in Chester, England. Died: 1852-09-11 in Dawlish, Devon, England.
Associated with Joanna Baillie and Robert Southey. Her mother, also named Margaret Holford (1757–1834), was also an author.—lmw
wrote you know a very fine & powerful Poem Wallace or the Fight of Falkirk which came out the same year with my ChristinaChristina, The Maid of the South Seas; A Poem. London : A. J. Valpy . 1811. & was worth a thousand of it. (Don’t contradict this-–if you do I shall think that you think I am begging for a compliment instead of telling a truth) & rather think that Miss HolfordMargaret Hodgson Holford, or: Miss Holford , Margaret Hodgson | Born: 1778-06-01 in Chester, England. Died: 1852-09-11 in Dawlish, Devon, England.
Associated with Joanna Baillie and Robert Southey. Her mother, also named Margaret Holford (1757–1834), was also an author.—lmw
’s present work is more like Miss PorterJane Porter | Born: 1775-12-03 in Durham, England. Died: 1850-05-24 in Bristol, England.
Sibling of writer Anna Maria Porter, with whom she collaborated; and painter Robert Ker Porter. Part of a large circle of successful male and female writers in London in the 1790s and 1800s. Mitford read her Thaddeus of Warsaw.—lmw
than Walter ScottWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
. Did you ever read Thaddeus of Warsaw? Or the "Pastor's Fireside"? They are much in the same style only less powerful-–less manly.page 7
I am very glad to hear that Lady MadelinaMadelina Madalina Sinclair Palmer, the Lady, or: Lady M.P., Lady Mad., Lady Madelina Palmer | Born: 1772-06-19 in Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Died: 1847 in Chapel Street, Grosvenor Place, London, England.
Lady Madelina Gordon was born on June 10, 1772, the daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, and Jane Maxwell, at Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Her first husband was Robert Sinclair, 7th Baronet Sinclair; they married in 1789 and had one child, John Gordon Sinclair. Her second husband was the Reading Whig politician Charles Fyshe Palmer. They married in 1805 at Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Herefordshire. They lived at Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire and at East Court, Finchampstead, Berkshire. Through her siblings, Lady Madelina was connected to several of the most influential aristocratic families in the country. Her sister Charlotte Gordon became Duchess of Richmond through her marriage to Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox and 4th Duke of Aubigny. Her sister Susan Gordon became Duchess of Manchester through her marriage to William Montagu, Duke of Manchester. Her sister Louise Gordon became Marchioness Cornwallis through marriage to Charles Cornwallis, Marquess of Cornwallis. Her sister Georgiana Gordon became Duchess of Bedford through marriage to John Russell, Duke of Bedford. Her brothers were George Duncan Gordon, who became 5th Duke of Gordon, and Lord Alexander Gordon. Charles Fyshe Palmer’s marriage to Lady Madelina thus gained him access to aristocratic houses, including the Holland House. Lady Madelina’s name is variously spelled Madelina and Madalina, although Madelina appears to be the more common and standard spellling of the name, as an anglicization of the French Madeline. For more on the Palmers, see note 2 in The Browning’s Correspondence rendering of Mitford’s letter of 12 March 1842 to Elizabeth Barrett Browning .—kab, ebb, ad, lmw does not write to you-–it is exceedingly kind & civil in her indeed. If she did woe be to me! My nose would certainly be out of joint. I dare say her silence is purely in condescension of my feelings for I told her she had superseded me & that I took it very hard. She is amazingly kind not to write-–And yet she ought to write too, that I might enjoy my right of reprisal by reading her letter. Would you show them to me? You are not the only traitor among my correspondents-–if that be any consolation-–I happened to say to a friend in TownLondon, England | London | England | 51.5073509 -0.12775829999998223 Capital city of England and the United Kingdom; one the oldest cities in Western Europe. Major seaport and global trading center at the mouth of the Thames. From 1831 to 1925, the largest city in the world.—lmw that Mr. HazlittWilliam Hazlitt | Born: 1778-04-10 in Maidstone, Kent, England. Died: 1830-09-18 in Soho, London, England.
Essayist and critic, acquaintance of Mary Russell Mitford. Author of Table Talk (1821) and The Spirit of the Age (1825). Also authored collections of critical essays such as Characters of Shakespeare (1817), A View of the English Stage (1818), and English Comic Writers (1819). In a letter of 2 October 1820 , Mary Russell Mitford writes of Hazlitt to their mutual friend Haydon, He is the most delightful critic in the [world]— puts all his taste, his wit, his deep thinking, his matchless acuteness into his subject, but he does not put his whole heart & soul into it [. . . ] What charms me most in Mr. Haslitt is the beautiful candour which he bursts forth sometimes from his own prejudices [ . . . ] I admire him so ardently that when I begin to talk of him I never know how to stop. I could talk on for an hour in a see saw of praise and blame as he himself does of Beaumont & Fletcher & some of his old [favourites]. —lmw, cmm
was “the most delightful & most impudent of writers” or words to that effect & what did my correspondent do but read him this curious panegyric the first time they met. Luckily Mr. HazlittWilliam Hazlitt | Born: 1778-04-10 in Maidstone, Kent, England. Died: 1830-09-18 in Soho, London, England.
Essayist and critic, acquaintance of Mary Russell Mitford. Author of Table Talk (1821) and The Spirit of the Age (1825). Also authored collections of critical essays such as Characters of Shakespeare (1817), A View of the English Stage (1818), and English Comic Writers (1819). In a letter of 2 October 1820 , Mary Russell Mitford writes of Hazlitt to their mutual friend Haydon, He is the most delightful critic in the [world]— puts all his taste, his wit, his deep thinking, his matchless acuteness into his subject, but he does not put his whole heart & soul into it [. . . ] What charms me most in Mr. Haslitt is the beautiful candour which he bursts forth sometimes from his own prejudices [ . . . ] I admire him so ardently that when I begin to talk of him I never know how to stop. I could talk on for an hour in a see saw of praise and blame as he himself does of Beaumont & Fletcher & some of his old [favourites]. —lmw, cmm
is good humoured and took it without being astounded at my impudence.-–Mrs. Jonathan ElfordCharlotte Elford Wynne, or: Mrs. Elford
Daughter of John Wynne of Abercynlleth, Denbigh. Married Jonathan Elford on May 10, 1810. Birth and death dates unknown; needs further research.—lmw is only too kind in condescending to be amused with such chit chat-–flattery of that sort is very dangerous to me-–one’s heart warms so at kindness-–does it not? I will certainly write again as you did me-–but what shall I do for a subject? How is Lady MadelinaMadelina Madalina Sinclair Palmer, the Lady, or: Lady M.P., Lady Mad., Lady Madelina Palmer | Born: 1772-06-19 in Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Died: 1847 in Chapel Street, Grosvenor Place, London, England.
Lady Madelina Gordon was born on June 10, 1772, the daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, and Jane Maxwell, at Gordon Castle, Bellie, Moray, Scotland. Her first husband was Robert Sinclair, 7th Baronet Sinclair; they married in 1789 and had one child, John Gordon Sinclair. Her second husband was the Reading Whig politician Charles Fyshe Palmer. They married in 1805 at Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Herefordshire. They lived at Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire and at East Court, Finchampstead, Berkshire. Through her siblings, Lady Madelina was connected to several of the most influential aristocratic families in the country. Her sister Charlotte Gordon became Duchess of Richmond through her marriage to Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox and 4th Duke of Aubigny. Her sister Susan Gordon became Duchess of Manchester through her marriage to William Montagu, Duke of Manchester. Her sister Louise Gordon became Marchioness Cornwallis through marriage to Charles Cornwallis, Marquess of Cornwallis. Her sister Georgiana Gordon became Duchess of Bedford through marriage to John Russell, Duke of Bedford. Her brothers were George Duncan Gordon, who became 5th Duke of Gordon, and Lord Alexander Gordon. Charles Fyshe Palmer’s marriage to Lady Madelina thus gained him access to aristocratic houses, including the Holland House. Lady Madelina’s name is variously spelled Madelina and Madalina, although Madelina appears to be the more common and standard spellling of the name, as an anglicization of the French Madeline. For more on the Palmers, see note 2 in The Browning’s Correspondence rendering of Mitford’s letter of 12 March 1842 to Elizabeth Barrett Browning .—kab, ebb, ad, lmw altered? Was not she a QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
’s woman at BickhamBickham, Somerset, England | Bickham | Somerset | England | 51.163534 -3.506621999999993 Hamlet near Plymouth, and residence of Sir William Elford, who lived there until the failure of his finances in 1825 forced him eventually to sell his family’s estate. He sold his property in Bickham in 1831 and moved to The Priory, in Totnes, Devon the house of his daughter (Elizabeth) and son-in-law.—ebb, lmw? She was a very determined one at ReadingReading, Berkshire, England | Reading | Berkshire | England | 51.4542645 -0.9781302999999753 County town in Berkshire, in the Thames valley at the confluence of the Thames and the River Kennet. The town developed as a river port and in Mitford’s time served as a staging point on the Bath Road and was developing into a center of manufacturing. Mitford lived here with her parents from 1791 to 1795, on Coley Avenue in the parish of St. Mary’s and attended the Abbey School. The family returned to Reading from 1797 to about 1804, after which they relocated to Bertram House. They frequently visited Reading thereafter from their homes at nearby Bertram House, Three Mile Cross and Swallowfield. Mitford later used scenes from Reading as the basis for Belford Regis; or Sketches of a Country Town.—lmw I know-–Yes-–she is a most delightful woman though she is my rival-–I wish she and her excellent and most gentlemanly [del: .] husband would come to live at Luckley-–It is quite tantalizing to know a little of her and wish to know a great deal.

Kindest Compts. from PapaGeorge Mitford, Esq., or: George Midford | Born: . Died: .
Father of Mary Rusell Mitford, George Mitford was the son of Francis Midford, surgeon, and Jane Graham. The family name is sometimes recorded as Midford. Immediate family called him by nicknames including Drum, Tod, and Dodo. He was a member of a minor branch of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle in Northumberland. Although later sources would suggest that he was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh medical school, there is no evidence that he obtained a medical degree and he did not generally refer to himself as Dr. Mitford, preferring to style himself Esq.. In 1784, he is listed in a Hampshire directory as surgeon (medicine) of Alresford. His father and grandfather worked as apothecary-surgeons and it seems likely that he served a medical apprenticeship with family members.
He married Mary Russell on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford; they later came to live at Broad Street in New Alresford. Their only child to live to adulthood, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. He assisted Mitford's literary career by representing her interests in London and elsewhere with theater owners and publishers. He was active in Whig politics and later served as a local magistrate. He coursed greyhounds with his friend James Webb.
—lmw and MamaMary Russell Mitford, or: Mrs. Mitford | Born: 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire, England. Died: 1830-01-02 in Three Mile Cross, parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England.
Mary Russell was the youngest child of the Rev. Dr. Richard Russell and his second wife, Mary Dicker; she was born about 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire. (Her birth date is as yet unverified; period sources indicate that she was ten years older than her husband George, born in 1760.) Through the Russells, she was a distant relation of the Dukes of Bedford (sixth creation, 1694). She had two siblings, Charles William and Frances; both predeceased her and their parents, which resulted in Mary Russell inheriting her family’s entire estate upon her mother’s death in 1785. Her father’s rectory in Ashe was only a short distance from Steventon, and so she was acquainted with the young Jane Austen. She married George Mitford or Midford on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford. Their only daughter, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. Mary Russell died on January 2, 1830 at Three Mile Cross in the parish of Shinfield, Berkshire. Her obituary in the 1830 New Monthly Magazine gives New Year’s day as the date of her death.—ajc, lmw
. Pray don’t mention the story of Hannah Rowe and the DoctorRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
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