Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell; 28 January 1775 – 1 April 1861) was an English novelist, who is chiefly remembered in connection with a ''Diary illustrative of the Times of George IV'' (1838).
Life
Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Campbell was the daughter and the youngest child of Field Marshal
John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll (June 1723 – 24 May 1806), styled Marquess of Lorne from 1761 to 1770, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman. After serving as a junior officer in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succe ...
, and his wife
the former Elizabeth Gunning; Elizabeth was the second daughter of John Gunning, of Castle Coote,
County Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Connacht
, subdi ...
, and the widow of
James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton
James George Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Duke of Brandon, KT (10 July 1724 – 17 January 1758) was a Scottish peer.
Early years and education
Hamilton was the son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his first wife, the former Lady An ...
. Lady Charlotte was born at Argyll House,
Oxford Street, London
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as o ...
. In her youth she was noted for her personal beauty and charm, which made her one of the most popular persons in society. She was interested in "
belles-lettres
is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
", and knew the literary celebrities of the day, including the young
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
.
It was at one of her parties that Scott met
"Monk" Lewis. At the age of twenty-two she anonymously published a volume of poems.
She married on 14 June 1796 Colonel
John Campbell (eldest son of
Walter Campbell of Shawfield
Walter Campbell, 3rd of Shawfield and Islay and 9th of Skipness (29 December 1741 – 19 October 1816) was a Scottish landowner, advocate and Rector of Glasgow University.
Early life
Campbell was born on 29 December 1741 into the Clan Campbell o ...
, by his first wife Eleanora Kerr), who, at the time of his decease in Edinburgh on 15 March 1809, was Member of Parliament for the
Ayr Burghs. By this marriage she had nine children, of whom, however, only two survived her, Lady A. Lennox and Mrs. William Russell. Lady Charlotte Campbell married secondly, on 17 March 1818, the Reverend Edward John Bury (only son of Edward Bury of Taunton); they had two daughters. Bury received from
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...
, his B.A. in 1811 and M.A. 1817. He assumed the position of rector in
Litchfield, Hampshire
Litchfield is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Litchfield and Woodcott, in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It is closely bypassed by the A34 road (England), A34 trunk road between Newbury, Berkshir ...
, in 1814 and died at
Ardencaple Castle
Ardencaple Castle, also known as Ardincaple Castle, and sometimes referred to as Ardencaple Castle Light, is a listed building, situated about from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Today, all that remains of the castle is a tower, perch ...
,
Dumbartonshire
Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...
, in May 1832, aged 42.
After Lady Charlotte had been widowed in 1809, she was appointed a
Lady-in-Waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
in the household of
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821, being the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Pr ...
, Princess of Wales.
It is believed that she kept a diary, in which she recorded the foibles and failings of the princess and other members of the court. The diary was later published anonymously, and the identity of its author was revealed in the ''
Edinburgh Review
The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929.
''Edinburgh Review'', ...
'' by
Lord Brougham
Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...
; Lady Charlotte was rumoured to have received a thousand pounds from the publisher.
After her marriage to Bury, she made various contributions to light literature; some of her novels were very popular, although now almost forgotten. When the ''Diary illustrative of the Times of George IV'' appeared in two volumes in 1838, with a further two volumes being added in 1839. it was thought to bear evidence of a familiarity with the scenes depicted which could only be attributed to Lady Charlotte. It was reviewed with much severity, and attributed to her ladyship by both the ''
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
'' and ''
Quarterly Review
The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...
s''. The diary was a big success and several editions sold out in a few weeks. The charge of the authorship was not denied, and no one has since claimed to have written the diary, which public libraries began to catalogue under Lady Charlotte's name. Volume 3 of the ''Diary'' was discovered by
William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti (25 September 1829 – 5 February 1919) was an English writer and critic.
Early life
Born in London, Rossetti was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti and his wife Frances Rossetti ''née'' Polidor ...
to contain an encounter with
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
; a rare description of the poet and artist from a contemporary.
There are many instances in the diary that call into question the identification of Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Campbell as the author, chiefly on page 339 of volume one where the diarist writes the paragraph quoted below. “All goes gloomily for the Princess. Lady Charlotte Campbell told me, she regrets not seeing all these curious personages ; but, she said, the more the Princess is forsaken, the more happy she is at having offered to attend her at this time. This is very amiable in her and must be gratifying to the Princess” This paragraph clearly indicates that the diarist was a close acquaintance of Lady Charlotte, but not Lady Charlotte herself.
In a paragraph on Page 133 of volume 3 the diarist writes,
“Lady C. hints that Mr. Brougham intends to restrict the Princess of Wales to thirty thousand pounds, and to employ the remainder in paying the debts ; and that the salaries of all her attendants must be diminished. Lady C. says she told him how herself and Lady C. Campbell were situated, and only desired him to do what he considered to be most just and equitable by all the household.”
This indicates that Henry Brougham’s identification in the Edinburgh Review of Lady Charlotte Campbell as the author of the ‘Diary Of The Times of George IV’ was quite incorrect and may in fact have been intentional to disguise the identity of the diarist, whose true identity he surely must have known.
Lady Charlotte died at 91
Sloane Street
Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along.
History
Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Han ...
,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, on 31 March 1861. She was curiously described in her death certificate at Somerset House as "daughter of a duke and wife of the Rev. E. J. Bury, holding no benefice.''
Works
The following is believed to be a complete list of Lady Charlotte's writings; many of them originally appeared without her name, but even at that time there does not seem to have been any secret as to the identity of the writer:
# ''Poems on several Occasions, by a Lady'' 1797
# ''Self-indulgence : a tale of the nineteenth century.'' 1812. 2 volumes.
# ''Conduct is fate.'' 1822. 3 volumes.
# ''Alla Giornata, or To the Day'' anonymous, 1826. 3 volumes.
# ''Flirtation'' anonymous, 1828, which went to three editions. 3 volumes.
# ''A Marriage in High Life''
y the Hon. Caroline Lucy Lady Scott.dited by the author of ''Flirtation,'' 1828. 2 volumes.
# ''The Exclusives.'' 1830. 3 volumes.
# ''Separation'' by the author of ''Flirtation,'' 1830. 3 volumes.
# ''Journal of the Heart'' edited by the author of ''Flirtation,'' 1830
# ''The three great sanctuaries of Tuscany, Valombrosa, Camaldoli, Laverna: : a poem, with historical and legendary notices'', by the Right Honourable Lady Charlotte Bury. 1833
# ''The Disinherited and the Ensnared'' anonymous, 1834
# ''Journal of the Heart'' second series, edited by the author of ''Flirtation,'' 1835
# ''The Devoted'' by the author of ''The Disinherited,'' 1836
# ''Love'' anonymous, 1837; second edition 1860
# ''Memoirs of a Peeress, or the days of Fox'' by Mrs. C. F. Gore, edited by Lady C. Bury, 1837
# ''Ellen Glanville'' by a Lady of Rank, 1838, 2 vols. Attributed to Bury by the New York Public library, but the basis for the attribution is unclear.
# ''Diary illustrative of the Times of George the Fourth'' anonymous, 1838, 2 vols, 1839, 2 further vols.
# ''The Divorced'' by Lady C. S. M. Bury, 1837; another edition 1858
# " ''The History Of A Flirt. Related By Herself" anonymous 1840 (London) 3 vols.; 1841 (Phila.) 2 vols.
# ''Family Records, or the Two Sisters'' by Lady Charlotte Bury, Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1841, 2vols.
# ''The Manoeuvring Mother''. By the author of "the History of a Flirt". 1842. London. 3 volumes.
# ''The Wilfulness of Woman.'' By the authoress of "The History of a Flirt". 1844. London : Henry Colburn. 3 volumes.
# ''The Roses.'' : By the author of "The history of a flirt." 1853. London : Hurst and Blackett, 3 volumes
# ''The lady of fashion'' / by the author of "The history of a flirt". 1856. London : Hurst and Blackett, 3 volumes
# ''The Two Baronets'' a novel of fashionable life, by the late Lady C. S. M. Bury, 1864.
She is also said to have been the writer of two volumes of prayers, ''Suspirium Sanctorum,'' which were dedicated to
Samuel Goodenough
Samuel Goodenough ( – 12 August 1827) was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1808 until his death in 1827, and an amateur botanist and collector. He is honoured in the scientific names of the plant genus ''Goodenia'' and the red-capped robin (''Petroic ...
,
bishop of Carlisle
The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.
The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...
.
Children
![The Lily - portrait of miss Burry, by Charles Lock Eastlake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/The_Lily_-_portrait_of_miss_Burry%2C_by_Charles_Lock_Eastlake.jpg)
Children of Colonel
John Campbell and Lady Charlotte:
*
Walter Frederick (1798–1855), MP for Argyllshire 1822–32 and 1835–41, and inheritor of the island of
Islay
Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...
* John George (1800–1830), married Ellen, daughter of
Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington, 10th Baronet
There have been two baronetcies created for people with the surname Barrington. As of 2014 one creation is extant.
The Barrington Baronetcy, of Barrington Hall in the County of Essex was created in the Baronetage of England on 29 June 1611, for ...
*
Eliza Maria (1795–1842), palaeontologist, married
Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 2nd Baronet
Sir William Gordon Gordon-Cumming, 2nd Baronet of Altyre and Gordonstoun FRSE (20 July 1787 – 25 November 1854), was a Scottish Member of Parliament.
Gordon-Cumming was member of parliament (MP) for Elgin Burghs from 1831 to 1832.
Life
He wa ...
* Eleanora (died 1828), married
Henry, Earl of Uxbridge (later (2nd
Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey ( cy, Ardalydd Môn) is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, second in command to the Duke of Wellington. The Marquess ...
)
*
Harriet Charlotte Beaujolais (August 1801 - February 1848), a minor author, married
Charles, Lord Tullamore (later 2nd
Earl of Charleville
Earl of Charleville was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1758 when Charles Moore, 2nd Baron Moore, was made Earl of Charleville, in the King's County. The title Baron Moore, of Tullamore in the ...
)
* Emma, married William Russell, youngest son of
Lord William Russell
Lord William Russell (20 August 1767 – 5 May 1840) was a member of the British aristocratic Russell family and longtime Member of Parliament. He did little to attract public attention after the end of his political career until, in 1840, he was ...
* Adelaide, married
Lord Arthur Lennox
Lord Arthur Lennox (2 October 1806 – 15 January 1864) was a British politician. He was the youngest son of the 4th Duke of Richmond and the uncle of Lord Henry Lennox.
Lennox was commissioned into the 71st Foot. He was promoted lieutenant ...
* Julia, married Peter Langford-Brooke, of
Mere Hall in Cheshire
References
;Attribution
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bury, Charlotte
1775 births
1861 deaths
Daughters of British dukes
British ladies-in-waiting
English diarists
19th-century English writers
English women novelists
Writers from London
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
19th-century English women writers
19th-century British writers
Women diarists
18th-century English women
18th-century English people
18th-century British women writers
Court of George III of the United Kingdom