Mary, Countess of Derby, and the Politics of Victorian Britain

Lady Mary Derby (1824–1900) occupied a pivotal position in Victorian politics, yet her activities have largely been overlooked or ignored. __A Female Politician__ places Mary back into the political position she occupied and offers the first dedicated account of her career. Based on extensive archival research, including hitherto neglected or lost sources, this study reconstructs the political worlds Mary inhabited. Her political landscape was dominated by the machinations and intrigues of high politics and diplomacy. As this book uncovers, her political skill and acumen were highly valued by leading politicians of the day, including Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone, and she played a significant role in many of the key events of the mid-Victorian era. This included the passing of the Second Reform Act, the formation of Disraeli’s 1874 government, the Eastern Crisis of 1875–1878, and Gladstone’s 1880–1885 government. By exploring how one woman was able to exercise influence at the heart of Victorian politics, this book considers what Mary’s career tells us about the nature of political life in the mid nineteenth century. It sheds new light on the connections between informal and formal political culture, incorporating the politics of the home, letter-writing, and social relations into a consideration of the politics of Parliament and government. __A Female Politician__ is a rich investigation of how a woman, with few legal or constitutional rights, was able to become a significant figure in mid-Victorian political life. Cover Mary, Countess of Derby, and the Politics of Victorian Britain Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents List of Images A Note on Names Family Trees Introduction: Aristocratic women and Victorian political culture VICTORIAN POLITICAL CULTURE VICTORIAN POLITICAL FEMININITY SOURCES AND STRUCTURE PART I: THE POLITICS OF HOME 1: ‘History will judge us right’: A Political Life 2: ‘It is the next best thing to a “chat” in St J squ’: Politics by Letter ‘WE’VE KEPT THE ENVELOPES, NOT THE LETTERS’: MARY’S ARCHIVE ‘I DARE SAY YOU HAVE MUCH BETTER INFORMATION THAN I ’: MARY’S LETTERS ‘THE BEST INFORMED LADY ON POLITICAL SUBJECTS IN ENGLAND’: MARY’S POLITICAL NETWORKS 3: ‘The most attentive hostess in the world’: Politics at Home THE LANDSCAPE OF POLITICAL CULTURE ‘I HEARD SO OFTEN ABOUT HATFIELD AND ITS CHÂTELAINE’: POLITICAL ENTERTAINING AS MARCHIONESS OF SALISBURY ‘I DEEPLY REGRET THE AFFAIRS OF LAST NIGHT’: MARY AND THE POLITICS OF REFORM ‘THERE WAS A LOT OF POLITICAL INTEREST IN’: ENTERTAINING AT KNOWSLEY AND 23 ST JAMES’S SQUARE PART II: THE POLITICS OF WESTMINSTER 4: ‘That Miserable Party Spirit’: Mary and the Conservative Party ‘THE LIFELESSNESS, UTTER STAGNATION’: IN OPPOSITION, 1868–1874 ‘BREAKING THE GROUND’: MARY AND THE FORMATION OF THE 1874 CABINET ‘CABINET’S DRIFT INTO POLICY’: IN GOVERNMENT, 1874–1878 5: ‘Begin afresh’: Mary and the Liberal Party ‘BRING USEFUL MEN TOGETHER’: MARY’S POLITICAL ISOLATION 1878–1880 ‘MAKING SOME GREAT MISTAKE OR GAUCHERIES’: DERBY’S POLITICAL NEUTRALITY ‘AN ACT LIKELY AND INTENDED TO INFLUENCE VOTERS’: MARY AND THE ELECTIONS OF 1880 ‘GOT THEMSELVES INTO TROUBLE’: THE POLITICS OF IRELAND ‘WD DO BETTER IN AN EMERGENCY’: DERBY’S APPOINTMENT TO GLADSTONE’S CABINET, 1882 PART III: THE POLITICS OF DIPLOMACY 6: ‘Amphibious Agents’: Aristocratic Women and Diplomatic Culture ‘I HAVE NOT HEARD OF IT! WHAT WAS IT?’: MARY’S DIPLOMATIC APPRENTICESHIP ‘PUTTING YOUR VIEWS BEFORE THE F SECY’: MARY’S DIPLOMATIC METHODS ‘WHAT DIPLOMACY WAS ABOUT’: MARY’S DIPLOMATIC IDEAS 7: ‘I am behind the Scenes’: The Eastern Crisis I ‘I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SEE A RAY OF LIGHT’: THE BULGARIAN HORRORS ‘I SEE THE HIDEOUS COMPLICATIONS OF RED TAPE & DIPLOMACY’: THE CONSTANTINOPLE CONFERENCE ‘MY SMALL EFFORTS’: THE MARCH PROTOCOL ‘MORBID DEPRESSION AND MELANCHOLY’: POLITICAL AND PERSONAL ANXIETIES, SPRING 1877 8: ‘I should be open to the still graver charge of betraying H. M. Govt.’: The Eastern Crisis II ‘WE ALL SEEM TO BE HOLDING OUR BREATHS & WAITING’: UNCERTAINTY AND THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR ‘JE ME REFUSE D’ÊTRE WARNED’: GOSSIP AND RUMOUR DURING CHRISTMAS 1877 ‘NOT OF THE SLIGHTEST CONSEQUENCE’: THE POLITICS OF 1878 Conclusion: ‘Female Politicians’? Select Bibliography MANUSCRIPT SOURCES PUBLISHED CONTEMPORARY SOURCES Newspapers and Periodicals Published letters, diaries, and memoirs Other SECONDARY SOURCES Books Articles and Essays Other Index Lady Mary Derby (1824-1900) occupied a pivotal position in Victorian politics, yet her activities have largely been overlooked or ignored. This volume places Mary back into the political position she occupied and offers the first dedicated account of her career. 0Based on extensive archival research, including hitherto neglected or lost sources, this study reconstructs the political worlds Mary inhabited. Her political landscape was dominated by the machinations and intrigues of high politics and diplomacy. As Jennifer Davey uncovers, Mary's political skill and acumen were highly valued by leading politicians of the day, including Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone, and she played a significant role in many of the key events of the mid-Victorian era. This included the passing of the Second Reform Act, the formation of Disraeli's 1874 Government, the Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878, and Gladstone's 1880-1885 Government. 0By exploring how one woman was able to exercise influence at the heart of Victorian politics, this book considers what Mary's career tells us about the nature of political life in the mid-nineteenth century. It sheds new light on the connections between informal and formal political culture, incorporating the politics of the home, letter-writing, and social relations into a consideration of the politics of Parliament and Government. It provides a rich investigation of how a woman, with few legal or constitutional rights, was able to become a significant figure in mid-Victorian political life