Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith
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Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith born Hester Maria Thrale (17 September 1764 – 31 March 1857) was a British
literary correspondent and intellectual. She was the eldest child of Hester Thrale
, diarist, author and confidante of Samuel Johnson
, and Henry
, a wealthy brewer and patron of the arts. She became the second wife of George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith.
) early in her childhood, and was a regular correspondent of the little girl as well as of her mother. Queeney Thrale was born in Southwark
, where her father's brewery
was situated, and grew up mainly at the family home, Streatham Park
in South London, which was the focus of an important coterie of political, artistic and literary figures known as the Streatham Worthies
. She showed early signs of a good memory and sharp intellect, and by age six she was regarded as a greater prodigy than her intelligent and accomplished mother. She studied Latin
with Dr Johnson, working alongside the novelist Fanny Burney
, another family protegée, and also Italian
and Hebrew. She was painted by Zoffany at 20 months, and she and her mother were the joint subjects of a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1781, as were other members of the Streatham park circle.
Queeney's early life and accomplishments were recorded in The Family Book and Thraliana
, which Hester Thrale began on her eldest daughter's second birthday. The Family Book records Queeney's childhood and education, her grasp of languages, astronomy, geography and other subjects. Thraliana details her liking for the notorious Mad Jack Fuller, whose proposal of marriage was later rejected by her sister Susannah. After her husband's death in 1781 Hester Thrale married her children's Italian music teacher, a Roman Catholic, causing public scandal and a rift with her children, particularly Queeney, who went on to make an independent London life for herself with a respectable widowed friend as chaperone.
On 10 January 1808, aged 44, Queeney Thrale married the widowed Admiral Lord Keith, a distinguished and celebrated senior Naval officer 19 years her senior who had amassed a considerable fortune from prize-money
during the Napoleonic wars
. They had met in 1791, four years after the death of Lord Keith's first wife, and corresponded for 16 years before their marriage. Lord and Lady Keith were a prominent and well-connected society couple: they had one daughter, the Hon Georgina Augusta, born in December 1809, and the baby's sponsors
were the Prince of Wales
and the Duke of Clarence
, both future kings of the United Kingdom.
After Napoleon's final defeat
in 1815, Lord Keith retired from the Navy and the family lived mainly on their large estate at Tulliallan, where they had a magnificent castle constructed which is now the Scottish Police College
. Left a wealthy widow when their daughter was 13, Lady Keith lived another 34 years, dying in Picadilly, London on 31 March 1857, aged 92. She is buried in the Keith family mausoleum with her husband and daughter.
The "Queeney letters", a large collection of letters addressed to Queeney by Johnson, Fanny Burney and her mother Hester was published in 1934.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
literary correspondent and intellectual. She was the eldest child of Hester Thrale
Hester Thrale
Hester Lynch Thrale was a British diarist, author, and patron of the arts. Her diaries and correspondence are an important source of information about Samuel Johnson and 18th-century life.-Biography:Thrale was born at Bodvel Hall, Caernarvonshire, Wales...
, diarist, author and confidante of Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, and Henry
Henry Thrale
Henry Thrale was an 18th century English Member of Parliament and a close friend of Samuel Johnson. Like his father, he was the proprietor of the large London brewery, H. Thrale & Co....
, a wealthy brewer and patron of the arts. She became the second wife of George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith.
Childhood and education
Johnson gave Hester Maria her lifelong nickname "Queeney" (after Queen EstherEsther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...
) early in her childhood, and was a regular correspondent of the little girl as well as of her mother. Queeney Thrale was born in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, where her father's brewery
Anchor Brewery, Southwark
The Anchor Brewery, Southwark, was situated off Southwark Bridge Road and had its main entrance on Park Street, Southwark.- History :The brewery was established in 1616 by James Monger and for many years was a relatively small concern. In the 18th century it was owned by the Thrale family, who were...
was situated, and grew up mainly at the family home, Streatham Park
Streatham Park
Streatham Park is an area of suburban southwest London. It comprises the eastern part of Furzedown ward in the London Borough of Wandsworth, formerly in the historic parish of Streatham...
in South London, which was the focus of an important coterie of political, artistic and literary figures known as the Streatham Worthies
Streatham Worthies
The Streatham Worthies is the collective description for the circle of literary and cultural figures around the wealthy brewer Henry Thrale and his wife Hester Thrale who assembled at his country retreat Streatham Park and were commemorated by a series of portraits by Joshua Reynolds.Reynolds...
. She showed early signs of a good memory and sharp intellect, and by age six she was regarded as a greater prodigy than her intelligent and accomplished mother. She studied Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
with Dr Johnson, working alongside the novelist Fanny Burney
Fanny Burney
Frances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney...
, another family protegée, and also Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Hebrew. She was painted by Zoffany at 20 months, and she and her mother were the joint subjects of a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1781, as were other members of the Streatham park circle.
Queeney's early life and accomplishments were recorded in The Family Book and Thraliana
Thraliana
The Thraliana was a diary kept by Hester Thrale and is part of the genre known as table talk. Although the work began as Thrale's diary focused on her experience with her family, it slowly changed focus to emphasise various anecdotes and stories about the life of Samuel Johnson...
, which Hester Thrale began on her eldest daughter's second birthday. The Family Book records Queeney's childhood and education, her grasp of languages, astronomy, geography and other subjects. Thraliana details her liking for the notorious Mad Jack Fuller, whose proposal of marriage was later rejected by her sister Susannah. After her husband's death in 1781 Hester Thrale married her children's Italian music teacher, a Roman Catholic, causing public scandal and a rift with her children, particularly Queeney, who went on to make an independent London life for herself with a respectable widowed friend as chaperone.
Marriage and children
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
during the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. They had met in 1791, four years after the death of Lord Keith's first wife, and corresponded for 16 years before their marriage. Lord and Lady Keith were a prominent and well-connected society couple: they had one daughter, the Hon Georgina Augusta, born in December 1809, and the baby's sponsors
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
were the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and the Duke of Clarence
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
, both future kings of the United Kingdom.
After Napoleon's final defeat
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
in 1815, Lord Keith retired from the Navy and the family lived mainly on their large estate at Tulliallan, where they had a magnificent castle constructed which is now the Scottish Police College
Scottish Police College
The Scottish Police College, based at Tulliallan Castle, in Kincardine-on-Forth, provides basic training to all new recruits to the Scottish Police Forces....
. Left a wealthy widow when their daughter was 13, Lady Keith lived another 34 years, dying in Picadilly, London on 31 March 1857, aged 92. She is buried in the Keith family mausoleum with her husband and daughter.
The "Queeney letters", a large collection of letters addressed to Queeney by Johnson, Fanny Burney and her mother Hester was published in 1934.
In fiction
- Beryl BainbridgeBeryl BainbridgeDame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...
's BookerMan Booker PrizeThe Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
-longlisted novel According to Queeney (2001), a fictionalised account of the last days of Dr Johnson, has Hester Maria Thrale as its narrator. - She also features in Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
's Aubrey-Maturin series of novels as the childhood friend and mathematics tutor of Captain Jack AubreyJack AubreyJohn "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
; her husband being his mentorMentorIn Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
in his naval career.