The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington

by Richard Robert Madden, Marguerite Blessington Countess of Blessington

Overview

Following her advantageous second marriage, the famous beauty Marguerite, Countess of Blessington (1789–1849), presided over one of London's most glittering salons, variously attended by Thomas Moore, Disraeli, Bulwer Lytton, and Dickens. After her husband's death in 1829, she augmented her income by writing, most notably her Conversations with Lord Byron, which recounted her acquaintance with the poet in Genoa. Despite considerable success, her debt-ridden establishment collapsed in 1849 and Lady Blessington fled to Paris, where she died. This 1855 biography and letters, in three volumes was edited by R. R. Madden (1798–1886), colonial administrator and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, who had first met the Blessingtons in Naples in 1821. It illuminates the role of the salon hostess and its many financial and emotional pressures. Volume 1 includes an account of her life and literary career, and a brief life of the Count d'Orsay, her long-term companion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108048316
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/26/2012
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies
Pages:	536
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.18(d)

Table of Contents

1. Notice and letters of the Marquess Wellesley; 2. Notice and letters of the late Duke of Wellington; 3. Notice and letters of Lord Brougham to Lady Blessington; 4. Notices and letters of Isaac D'Israeli, Esq.; 5. Notice and letters of Joseph Jekyll, Esq.; 6. Notice and letters of Doctor Samuel Parr, LL.D.; 7. Notices and letters of Thomas Moore, Esq.; 8. Notices and letters of B. Simmons, Esq. and John Kenyon; 9. Notices and letters of W. H. Ainsworth, Esq.; 10. Miscellaneous letters; 11. Epistolary curiosities, etc.; 12. Correspondence with the Mathews; Appendix; Index.