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Henrietta Elizabeth "Harriet" Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville (''née'' Cavendish; 29 August 1785 – 25 November 1862) was a British peeress and society hostess. She was born as the daughter of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire by his wife, the political hostess Lady Georgiana Spencer. Despite her parents' turbulent marriage, Harriet had a happy childhood. Her mother's death in 1806 led to an unpleasant situation in which her father's long-time mistress Lady Elizabeth Foster took control of the Devonshire household; as the unmarried eldest daughter, this should have been Harriet's role. To help her escape this awkward domestic situation, Harriet's maternal aunt Henrietta arranged for her niece to marry her lover of seventeen years, Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville. The couple's marriage proved to be happy, and it produced five children. Granville served as his country's ambassador to France intermittently from 1824 to 1841, and he was awarded an earldom in 1833. With her position, Harriet acted as hostess to Parisian society, writing detailed accounts that were later published. She died in 1862 of a stroke, having been widowed fifteen years. ==Family and early life== Lady Henrietta Elizabeth Cavendish was born at Devonshire House on 29 August 1785, the younger daughter of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and his wife Lady Georgiana Spencer. Known as "Harriet" or "Harryo" to her family, the baby was named after Georgiana's sister Henrietta Ponsonby and her friend Lady Elizabeth Foster. Her parents' marriage had been unhappy from the start; the Duchess had difficulty bringing her pregnancies to term, suffering miscarriages during their first nine years together. Her mother distracted herself by becoming immersed in society, and was soon known as a political hostess and leader of fashion. Despite the state of her parents' marriage, Cavendish had a happy childhood. She was devoted to her mother, and was fond of, but rarely saw, her aloof father. Her governess Selina Trimmer was a daughter of the famous children's writer Sarah Trimmer, and encouraged her charge to be morally principled. In May 1799, Cavendish was confirmed in Westminster Abbey alongside her cousin, the future Lady Caroline Lamb. The historian Janet Gleeson describes Cavendish as slightly plump in appearance, in possession of a clever, funny, and perceptive personality. Her biographer, Virginia Surtees, writes that although Cavendish was "no beauty, she had wit, intelligence, and shrewdness; her sharp eye missed little but in high croak and spirits viewed with tolerance the world of drums, dandies, gossip, and matchmaking in which she moved". In 1802, Cavendish's cousin John Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon (her mother's sister's son), whom she had known her entire life, began to show romantic interest in her. Cavendish was unsure whether she cared for him enough, and they agreed to wait a year before deciding "whether they liked each other well enough to marry". Their two families, especially his mother (and her aunt) Lady Bessborough approved of the match, but Cavendish was still undecided. During this period, John had romantic relationships with Lady Maria Fane and others; Cavendish presented an ultimatum that he "must promise to cure himself completely of flirting, for she could not bear it". John angrily refused that he was not ready to marry her after all, nor "bear rules to be prescribed to him by any woman living". He became engaged to Fane shortly thereafter. Her family later encouraged a match with another cousin John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, though, during her stay at Althorp, she stated that "no reasonable woman" could think of him as anything "but as an eager huntsman". The Duchess of Devonshire died in March 1806; and Cavendish's life at home became unhappy. Her father had been involved in a relationship with Lady Elizabeth Foster for years. Always greatly resentful of Foster's presence in the household, Cavendish was angered when she took control of their home, for instance disliking it when her place at the head of the table was taken by Foster. As the unmarried adult daughter, this role should have been taken by Cavendish, not by Foster (who was not yet married to her father). During this period, Cavendish frequently went to live with her elder sister, Georgiana, who was recently married to the future 6th Earl of Carlisle; Cavendish's son Frederick later wrote that the experience "strengthened the tie of sisterly affection, which bound them together during the whole of their joint lives". From 1801 onwards, Cavendish wrote to her sister almost daily until the latter's death in 1858. Three years after her mother's 1806 death, the Duke married Foster. 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「Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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