Lady Caroline Lamb’s whole disgraceful truth… Part eleven ~ The Proposal

As I said last week, fate began to play a new hand in Caroline’s life at the end of 1804. William Lamb’s older brother Peniston became seriously ill, he was dying of consumption and William grasped his moment to propose to Caroline. but before I tell you the tale, here is the background to this series of posts, as always and if you have read it before please skip to the end of the italics where I have marked the type in bold.

I was drawn to Lady Caroline Lamb, who lived in the Regency era, because Harriette Wilson the courtesan who wrote her memoirs in 1825, mentions the Ponsonby and the Lamb family frequently. Also the story of Caroline’s affair with Lord Byron captured my imagination. Caroline was also a writer, she wrote poems, and novels in her later life. I have read Glenarvon.

Her life story and her letters sucked me further into the reality of the Regency world which is rarely found in modern-day books. Jane Austen wrote fictional, ‘country’ life as she called it, and I want to write fictional ‘Regency’ life rather than simply romance. But what I love when I discover gems in my research like Caroline’s story is sharing the real story behind my fiction here too.

Lady Caroline Lamb was born Caroline Ponsonby, on the 13^th November 1785. She was the daughter of Frederick Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon, and Henrietta (known as Harriet), the sister of the infamous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.

Caroline became an official lady when her grandfather died, and her father became Earl of Bessborough earning her the honorific title ‘Lady’ and she grew up in a world of luxury, even Marie Antoinette was a family friend. Caroline was always renowned as being lively, and now it is suspected she had a condition called bipolar. As a child she earned herself a title as a ‘brat’, by such things as telling her aunt Georgiana that Edward Gibbon’s (the author of The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire) face was ‘so ugly it had frightened her puppy’.

And when she grew up Byron once described Caroline as “the cleverest most agreeable, absurd, amiable, perplexing, dangerous fascinating little being that lives now or ought to have lived 2000 years ago.”

William had been harbouring a desire for Caorline for years by this point, and he must have seen other suitors lining up for their moment to offer. Caro was from one of the most renowned and oldest families, and her family were even considering a match with a prince… So William grasped a chance to offer for her now, at least knowing he would likely become a peer.

Caroline refused him, though.

As Peniston became more seriously ill, William’s mother scandalously allowed his mistress to stay in their family home, to give him some comfort. He died on January 4th 1805, leaving William the heir to the Melbourne title and fortune. This however was not a straightforward step, because William was illegitimate. Peniston had been Lord Melbourne’s only legitimate child, and although Lord Melbourne had given his wife’s other sons his name, he knew they were not his. He therefore refused to recognize William as his heir in any unofficial capacity, even though to the world William was his son… (So you see the other way these high status families managed their copious by-blows, they either passed them off to others, or persuaded husbands and wives to treat them as legitimate)

While the Lamb family were creating scandal and enduring sadness, Caro’s family were spinning up a storm of scandal as usual. Caro’s mother wrote to her lover about a letter, sent to Caroline, which contained ‘every gross, disgusting indecency that the most deprav’d imagination could suggest‘ and in case Caro should not understand the innuendo, the author had explained everything in detail… What was worse was the letter contained details which indicated that the person knew the family, and it referred to a conversation Caro had participated in with her aunt Georgiana. The rest of the family went on to be bombarded with horrible letters, and even worse an editor from the Morning Post showed Harriet letters that he received on a daily basis pouring out scandal about the family. It was then that Harriet recognized the writing as one of her former lovers.

Harriet and Georgiana in the end silenced the author by publishing a response in the paper…

Shame to the pen whose coward poisons flow

In secret streams with baneful malice fraught

That emulates th’ assassin’s Midnight blow,

by hate directed and my vengeance wrought.

Yet generous mind the name will ne’re reveal,

Tho’ known! nor deign a stigma to impart,

But leave the dastard miscreant to feel

The conscious pangs of corrupted heart.

That letters did cease not long after this was published.

Meanwhile, eventually, Lord Melbourne was persuaded by his wife to settle an allowance on William and recognize him as the future Earl, but instead of setting an allowance of £5,000 on William, Lord Melbourne only allowed him £1,800 – yet that was enough for William to provide for a wife and so on May 1st he repeated his proposal to Caroline.

‘I have loved you for four years, loved you deeply, dearly, faithfully – so faithfully that my love has withstood with firm determination to conquer it when honour forbade my declaring myself – has withstood all that absence, variety of objects, my own endeavours to seek and like others, or to occupy my mind with fix’d attention to my profession, could do to shake it‘

His heartfelt words convinced Caroline to plead the acceptance of her parents, and on the 2nd of May Harriet wrote to her lover.

‘I have long foreseen and endeavoured to avoid what has just happened – Wm Lamb’s proposing to her but she likes him too much for me to do more than entreat a little further acquaintance on both sides, (that line make’s me wonder if the only reason Caro refused the previous year was on the advice of her mother – she says further) and not have this declared immediately, which precludes all possibility of retreat. In some things I like it. He has a thousand good qualities, is very clever, which is absolutely necessary for her; and above all she has preferred him from childhood, and is now so much in love with him that before his speaking . I dreaded it affecting her health. But on the other hand, I dislike the connection extremely. I dislike his manners, and still more his principles and his creed,or rather no creed. Yet to her his behaviour has been honourable and his letter is beautiful.‘

I love that Harriet criticizes his principles… when we KNOW hers… But I also love that she thinks his letter beautiful…

The story continues next week… Yes, I am going to leave in suspense until then…

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Jane Lark is a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional Historical and New Adult Romance stories, and the author of a No.1 bestselling Historical Romance novel in America, ‘The Illicit Love of a Courtesan’.

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Lady Caroline Lamb’s whole disgraceful truth… Part ten ~ Another illegitimate child graces the family

Last week I wrote about the friendships the Bessbroroughs and Devonshires developed during their visit to Paris, and before they left they invited both Germaine de Staël and Juliette Récamier. Madame Récamier was the first to accept the invitation, but before I go on to tell you what happened and how it affected Caroline, here is the background to this series of posts for anyone joining them for the first time today and for those who have been following my posts, as always then simply skip to the bold type after the italics.

Madame Récamier arrived in England in April 1803, and her name spun about the gossips of high society as she wore white, loose garments and lace, which skimmed across her skin, leaving her curves on show.

The Greek looking style reclaimed from ancient statues became known as Nude, because the dresses and fabrics left so little to imagination.

Madame Récamier had a certain way in which she carried herself, it was dramatic, and Lady Caroline fell in love with it and began to mimic her in a way that replicated her love of theatricals. She liked to dress up and imagine fairies, and she was as much in love with flowing dramatic dresses as with wearing breeches, as women did when playing a man’s role in a play. This quirkiness which ran through her life, and later fascinated Lord Byron, had her riding beside the coachman on the bench when she travelled, and jumping down at her destination.

But during this time, when perhaps a daughter would have appreciated a mother’s guidance, Harriet’s thoughts were more focused on not only her current lover Granville, but also her former lover Sheridan, who was a significant influence in the political set that Harriet and Georgiana mingled with. He was having difficulty with his wife and had turned to drink and chasing Harriet, and when he was not chasing her, stirring up trouble for her, spreading ill rumors, and whispering in the ear of the Prince Regent.

During those two years, Caro continued to be courted by William Lamb, but also by her Cousin Hart, who would be the future Duke of Devonshire, and by another cousin Lord Althrop.

In 18o4 Harriet became pregnant again, but not by her husband, by her lover Granville. The child was a boy who was born in the autumn and soon after Harriet wrote a letter to her lover about a play she had seen, about a natural (the word used at the time for those born out of wedlock) born child who’d discovered his father by stealing from him. She wrote ‘I cried my eyes out. The detail of all ye disadvantages a natural child must suffer would alone have affected me, but it is impossible to give you an idea of what this creature is – his tenderness to his Mother, his perfect freedom from all affection and whining… it is impossible to conceive greater perfection.”

We can only wonder how her mother’s behaviour impacted on Caroline.

But Caroline’s own life was about to take a huge turn… When William Lamb’s eldest brother died, leaving him the heir, he proposed to Caroline…

We will pick them up there next week:D

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the story of the real courtesan who inspired The Illicit Love of a Courtesan,
another free short story, about characters from book #2, A Lord’s Scandalous Love,
the prequel excerpts for book #3 The Scandalous Love of a Duke