During England’s Regency period, people often married for love, arranged marriages had become a tradition of the past, except when it came to the members of the Royal Family. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen from the higher classes picked their spouses from a select pool; meaning they picked a partner from the same social sphere in which they resided. Of course a title-holder could marry beneath him, but this was rarely done due to the risk of criticism and a possible shunning from society. Younger aristocratic sons could be cut off financially if they married a woman from the lower classes. In my new historical Regency novel, The Courtesan’s Daughter, the Earl of Saint Manns unknowingly falls in love with a famous courtesan’s daughter, Bianca. Bianca is the daughter of the Marquees of Clayton and courtesan, Fortune Eggleston. The marquees secretly married Fortune to give his daughter his name and to prevent her from being born a bastard. Unfortunately, Lord Clayton dies from illness. To prevent Bianca from an unsuitable life lacking opportunity, she is removed from her mother’s unfit home and raised by her Aunt Patience and her family. Bianca falls in love and becomes engaged to the Earl of Saint Giles, but she cannot hide from the truth of her past.
When writing this story I wanted to validate the scenario I created, so I began to research Regency men who married women who were considered beneath them. Here are some of the interesting stories I found.
The 2nd Lord Berwick was 41 years old when he married 17-year-old Sophia Dubochet, a courtesan and one of fifteen children of a Swiss watchmaker. Sophia was the sister of famed courtesan Harriette Wilson. Harriette and her two sisters Amy and Fanny became renowned courtesan known as “The Three Graces”, but the most successful member of the family was Sophia, who married into the aristocracy in 1812. With extravagant tastes, Sophia and Lord Berwick ran through his vast fortune and were forced to move to Italy where the cost of living was cheaper. They had no children.
The Duke of St. Albans married former actress Harriet Mellon in 1827. Harriet was an actress on Drury Lane and a celebrated beauty. She was the daughter of someone in the travelling theater company. Her acting performance at the Duke Street Theatre attracted the attentions of wealthy banker, Thomas Coutts, whom she married in 1815 after his wife died. When Coutts died in 1822, Harriet inherited his fortune, which included his interest in the family bank. In 1827, she married William Beauclerk, 9thDuke of St Albans who was 23 years her junior, and became a duchess.
Nelly Weston was a governess employed by Mr. Pedder who married his dairymaid after the death of his wife. Nelly wrote to a friend about the marriage saying, “If you knew the sorrow that a person must undergo who marries above herself, you would never be ambitious to marry out of your own rank”.
Lavinia Powlett became the Duchess of Bolton. Lavinia was a child prostitute, a waitress, a barmaid, and eventually an actress. As an actress she achieved great success and became very well known. After her appearance in Pollyin 1728, she ran away with her lover Charles Powlett, 3rdDuke of Bolton. Bolton was 23 years her senior and he married her in 1751 after the death of his wife.
There are more examples of those marrying below their social standing, and not all of these marriages turned out well for the couples. Gentlemen of the higher classes might court a merchant’s daughter, if her fortune was great and his coffers were dwindling, but an aristocratic daughter was not allowed to marry a merchant. This was done to prevent the family’s estates from falling under control of a dealer in trade, to preserve the family name, and to assure the daughter had financial security and social status. Men often used their wife’s dowry to shore up their estates and investments, as the higher classes tended to like to compete with each other regarding the accumulation of material goods and wealth. Marrying outside your social circle was rare, but it happened, as some were willing to forgo material wealth and society’s opinions for love.
To read more on The Three Graces: https://lahilden.com/a-cyprians-ball-and-the-three-graces/
A special thank you to: http://theviewfromchelsea.com/?p=474, https://www.cherylbolen.com/courting.htm, https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/a-survivors-guide-to-georgian-marriage/, https://byuprideandprejudice.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/courtship-and-marriage-in-the-regency-period/
