A Shrewd and Masculine Mind – No. 10 St. James Square (Part Two)

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She was an Irish nobody, an outrage to the haute ton.  She had married a man who died during a drunken orgy when he fell out of a window at King’s Bench prison.  She had lived under the “protection” of another who received 10,000 pounds reimbursement for her upkeep.  She had snatched up a titled, rich husband.  Now she had come to make her mark upon society, not even troubling to hide her desire of becoming a posh London hostess.

Entrance Hall – No. 10 St. James Square

Her choice of house to accomplish this ambition was a scandal in and of itself.  No. 10 St. James Square had been the scene of grave deliberations by Prime Ministers.  Its walls had witnessed the re-drawing of Europe’s maps.  Now it was to house an empty-headed beauty and entertain a pack of frippery gentlemen.

When Lady Blessington stepped into its entrance hall, pausing to take in the “carved moulded architrave and rich pulvinated frieze and cornice,” did the house tremble in disgust?

No, indeed.  No. 10 was in alt.

It was Autumn of 1818 when Marguerite Gardiner, nee Power, took up residence in St. James Square.  Her husband, the Earl of Blessington, was seven years older than she, with children from a former marriage who conveniently remained behind in Ireland on their father’s estate, Mountjoy Forest.  Like Lady Holland, Marguerite was shunned by female callers.  But she had known adversity before and this snub in no way depressed one such as she.  Her husband knew all the great men of society and was pleased to introduce her to them.  Soon No. 10 was receiving those frippery gentlemen, the very ones other hostesses would give their eyeteeth to entertain.

It seemed that Holland House and yes, even that grande dame of Regency salons, Lansdowne House, would be destined to look to their laurels.  Fellow Irishman and noted diarist, the abolitionist Dr. Richard Robert Madden, made special note of the salon at No. 10:

Two Royal English dukes condescended not unfrequently to do homage at the new shrine of Irish beauty and intellect….Whig and Tory politicians and lawyers, forgetful of their party feuds and professional rivalries for the nonce, came there as gentle pilgrims.

Dr. Samuel Parr, noted Whig political writer and stern schoolmaster, also came under Lady Blessington’s spell, calling her “most gorgeous.”  He was the first to divine the intelligence behind the beauty, rightly predicting an unlikely development that would occur long after his death:

With her shrewd and masculine mind, she would be even more impressive in middle age than while in the lovely splendor of her youth. 

Lady Blessington would need that shrewd and masculine mind developed in the company of the Regency’s brilliant and distinguished.  It turned out that No. 10 served to be an incubator of developing intellect that would take the place of fading beauty.  After her husband died and No. 10 passed to another, Marguerite had to find a way to sustain herself, turning to writing.  Her works include Conversations with Lord Byron, Idler in Italy and Idler in France.  They were popular works that gave her the income she needed until she died in Paris in 1849, far from No. 10 St. James Square.

11 thoughts on “A Shrewd and Masculine Mind – No. 10 St. James Square (Part Two)”

  2. Margaret Power had a troubled childhood. her father toadied to the English to get jobs and preferment. He even changed his religion from Catholic to Church of England. Despite all, he was not liked. The English disliked him for his obsequiousness and the Irish fir being a turn coat. His fields were burned. Margaret feared his voice and his hand. She was sold in marriage at age 14 to Farmer , an army man who had a reputation for violence when crossed. When he was ordered overseas she refused to go. Some biographies say she went home, but I doubt it. Instead she went with Jenkins , another army man who was kind , educated her ,and refined her manners. It was in his house she met the man who was to be made Earl of Blessington. Blessington was married at the time but his wife soon died. He had an elaborate funeral for her. He had both legitimate and illegitimate children. He was interested in private theatricals,
    After his wife died. he came to an arrangement where he paid Margaret’s protector £10,000 for his expenses and took Margaret into his protection. To everyone’s shock and surprise, as soon as her husband died , Blessington married Margaret.
    Life as a countess was not all roses and Margaret was forever an object of censure. Blessington took Margaret abroad with Dorsay and later married Dorsay off to his legitimate daughter. The daughter despised him and after Blessington’s death managed to get free of the marriage. D’orsay was left most of the money. margaret’s jointure was based on estates in Ireland that failed during the potato famine. She sold everything and wrote more to pay the bills then went to paris where she died. A controversial person much disliked by the Haut ton.
    She was blamed because Blessington had his daughter marry D’Orsay. One would thnk that her own experience would have made her sympathetic to the child. WE don’t k now if she feared her husband, knew it wouldn’t do to protest, or just felt that if she had survived worse that the girl should be grateful.
    I get the impression of a cold woman though she was said to have been remarkably beautiful.

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    • I’m glad you filled in the details I left out, Nancy, and some I didn’t know. There was a good deal of speculation that Lady Blessington was cuckolding the earl with d’Orsay.

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  4. Of course an intelligent woman had a “masculine” mind. She was quite beautiful if that painting is any indication.

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  6. Pingback: The Regency Hostess | Angelyn's Blog

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