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Emma, Lady Hamilton (26 April 1765; baptised 12 May 1765 – 15 January 1815) is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of Henry Lyon, a blacksmith who died when she was two months old. She was raised by her mother, the former Mary Kidd, at Hawarden, and received no formal education. She later changed her name to Emma Hart. ==Early life== Details of Emma's early life are unclear, but at age 12, she was known to be working as a maid at the Hawarden home of Doctor Honoratus Leigh Thomas, a surgeon working in Chester. Then she worked for the Budd family in Chatham Place, Blackfriars, London, and met a maid called Jane Powell, who wanted to be an actress. Emma joined in with Jane's rehearsals for various tragic roles. After this short stay in London, Emma went back to her mother, who was living near Oxford Street. Inspired by Jane's enthusiasm for the theatre, Emma started work at the Drury Lane theatre in Covent Garden, as maid to various actresses, among them Mary Robinson. However, this paid little. Emma next worked as a model and dancer at the "Goddess of Health" (also known as the "Temple of Health") for James Graham, a Scottish "quack" doctor. The establishment's greatest attraction was a bed through which electricity was passed, giving paying patrons mild shocks. This supposedly aided conception, and many infertile couples paid high prices to try it. Still only fifteen years old, Emma met Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh, who hired her for several months as hostess and entertainer at a lengthy stag party at Fetherstonhaugh's Uppark country estate in the South Downs. She is said to have entertained Harry and his friends by dancing nude on the dining room table.〔 citing ''Uppark and its people'' by M Meade-Fetherstonhaugh.〕 Fetherstonhaugh took Emma there as a mistress, but frequently ignored her in favour of drinking and hunting with his friends. Emma soon formed a friendship with one of the guests, the dull but sincere Honourable Charles Francis Greville (1749–1809), second son of the first Earl of Warwick and a member of Parliament for Warwick. It was about this time (late June-early July 1781) that she conceived a child by Fetherstonhaugh. Fetherstonhaugh was furious at the unwanted pregnancy but is thought to have accommodated Emma in one of his many houses in London. Soon thereafter, Emma gave up on Fetherstonhaugh, instead forming a romantic attachment to Greville. He was closer to her in age, and she might have believed that he was able to marry her. Emma became Greville's mistress. When the child (Emma Carew) was born, she was removed to be raised by a Mr. and Mrs Blackburn. As a young woman, Emma's daughter saw her mother reasonably frequently, but later when Emma fell into debt, Miss Carew worked abroad as a companion or governess. Emma was at Greville's mercy and acceded to his request to change her name to "Emma Hart". Greville kept Emma in a house at Edgeware Row, but he was in love with her and, wanting a painting of her, sent her to sit for his friend, the painter George Romney. It was then that Emma became the subject of many of Romney's most famous portraits. In fact, so began Romney's lifelong obsession with her, sketching her nude and clothed in many poses he used to create paintings in her absence. Through the popularity of Romney's work and particularly of his striking-looking young model, Emma became well known in society circles, under the name of "Emma Hart". She was witty, intelligent, a quick learner, elegant and, as paintings of her attest, extremely beautiful. George Romney was fascinated by her looks and ability to adapt to the ideals of the age. Romney and other artists painted her in many guises. In 1783, Greville needed to find a rich wife to replenish his finances (in the form of eighteen-year-old heiress Henrietta Middleton). Emma would be a problem, as he disliked being known as her lover (this having become apparent to all through her fame in Romney's artworks), and his prospective wife would not accept him as a suitor if he lived openly with Emma Hart. To be rid of Emma, Greville persuaded his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, British Envoy to Naples, to take her off his hands. Greville's marriage would be useful to Sir William, as it relieved him of having Greville as a poor relation. To promote his plan, Greville suggested to Sir William that Emma would make a very pleasing mistress, assuring him that, once married to Henrietta Middleton, he would come and fetch Emma back. Emma's famous beauty was by then well-known to Sir William, so much so that he even agreed to pay the expenses for her journey to ensure her speedy arrival. A great collector of antiquities and beautiful objects, he took interest in her as another acquisition. He had long been happily married until the death of his wife in 1782, and he liked female companionship. His home in Naples was well known all over the world for hospitality and refinement. He needed a hostess for his salon, and from what he knew about Emma, he thought she would be the perfect choice. Greville did not inform Emma of his plan, however, but instead suggested the trip as a prolonged holiday in Naples while he (Greville) was away in Scotland on business. Emma was thus sent to Naples, supposedly for six to eight months, little realising that she was going as the mistress of her host. She became furious when she realised what Greville had planned for her. Image:George Romney - Lady Hamilton as Circe.jpg|''Emma as Circe'' by George Romney, 1782 Image:Emma, Lady Hamilton by George Romney.jpg|''Emma'' by George Romney, circa 1785 Image:George Romney - Lady Hamilton (as a Bacchante) 2.jpg|''Emma'' by George Romney, circa 1785 Image:George Romney - Lady Hamilton (as a Bacchante) 3.jpg|''Emma as a Bacchante'' by George Romney, 1785 Image:George Romney - Lady Hamilton (as a Bacchante).jpg|''Emma as a Bacchante'' by George Romney, 18th century Image:Lady Emma Hamilton, as Cassandra, by George Romney.jpg|''Lady Emma Hamilton, as Cassandra'', by George Romney, 18th century Image:Emma, Lady Hamilton - Project Gutenberg eText 16914.jpg|''Emma Hamilton'', after the portraits by George Romney Image:Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun - Lady Hamilton as Ariadne.jpg|''Lady Hamilton as Ariadne'' by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1790 Image:LadyHamilton.jpg|''Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante'', by Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1790–1791 File:Lady Hamilton as Titania with Puck and Changeling (Romney, 1793).jpg|''Lady Hamilton as Titania with Puck and Changeling'', by George Romney, 1793 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Emma, Lady Hamilton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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