(Maria) Theresa Lewis (born Villiers, later Lister; 8 March 1803 – 9 November 1865) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

writer and biographer.

Early life

Maria Theresa Villiers was born on 8 March 1803. She was the daughter of the

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

George Villiers, a member of the aristocratic

Villiers family Villiers ( ) is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Buckingham (1623–1687) and Clevel ...

(and the youngest son of

Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon, PC (1709 – 11 December 1786) was a British politician and diplomat from the Villiers family. Clarendon was the second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey, and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of ...

and Charlotte Capell), and the former Theresa Parker (a daughter of

John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon (1735 – 27 April 1788) was a British peer and Member of Parliament. Origins Parker was the eldest son of John Parker (1703–1768) of Boringdon Hall, Plympton, and Saltram House, by his wife Catherine Poulett ...

and his second wife Hon. Theresa Robinson). Among her siblings were

George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, (12 January 180027 June 1870) was an English diplomat and statesman from the Villiers family. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs three times as part of a distinguished ...

Thomas Hyde Villiers Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, Hon.

Charles Pelham Villiers Charles Pelham Villiers (3 January 1802 – 16 January 1898) was a British lawyer and politician from the aristocratic Villiers family. He sat in the House of Commons for 63 years, from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parl ...

, Frederick Adolphus Villiers, Hon. Edward Ernest Villiers (who married Elizabeth Charlotte Liddell, daughter of

Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth Thomas Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth (8 February 1775 – 7 March 1855), known as Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet, from 1791 to 1821, was a British peer and Tory politician. Early life Liddell was the son of Sir Henry Liddell, 5th Ba ...

), Hon. Henry Montagu Villiers (

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

), and Lt. Hon. Augustus Algernon Villiers.

Career

Lewis compiled the biography of one of her ancestors,

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674), was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II from ...

. In 1852 Lewis published her first work which was a group of biographies based on the people known to Edward Hyde, the Earl of Clarendon, and it was titled ''The Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chancellor Clarendon''. The book was intended to illustrate the portraits in Clarendon's gallery at

The Grove, Watford The Grove is a large hotel in Hertfordshire, England, with a 300–acre (1.2 km2) private park next to the River Gade and the Grand Union Canal. It touches on its north-west corner the M25 motorway and remains a small part in Watford. T ...

.The Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chancellor Clarendon
Lady Theresa Lewis, 1852 Lewis's work so impressed the writer

Mary Berry Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at ...

that she left her papers to Lewis (via Sir Thomas Frankland Lewis) so that Lewis could in 1865 publish ''Extracts of the Journals and Correspondence of Miss Berry from the year 1783 to 1852''. Lady Lewis also edited a novel by the Hon.

Emily Eden Emily Eden (3 March 1797 – 5 August 1869) was an English poet and novelist who gave witty accounts of English life in the early 19th century. She wrote a celebrated account of her travels in India, and two novels that sold well. She was also a ...

called ''The Semi-Detached House'' in 1859, and she wrote two plays, based on fairy tales, for children to perform.

Personal life

On 6 November 1830, Lister married the novelist

Thomas Henry Lister Thomas Henry Lister (1800 – 5 June 1842) was an English novelist and biographer, and served as Registrar General in the British civil service. He was an early exponent of the silver fork novel as a genre and also presaged "futuristic" writing i ...

, a son of Thomas Lister of

Armitage Park Armitage Park (which has reverted to an earlier name of Hawkesyard Hall) is a 19th-century Grade II listed country house at Armitage near Rugeley, Staffordshire. History The land at Armitage was purchased by Nathaniel Lister, (poet and author ...

, and his first wife Harriet Anne Seale. They had three children: *

Thomas Villiers Lister Sir Thomas Villiers Lister (7 May 1832 – 26 February 1902) from the Villiers family was a British diplomat and the Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1873-94. Early life Thomas Villiers Lister was the son of Thoma ...

(1832–1902), married first Fanny Harriet Coryton and secondly Florence Selina Hamilton, daughter of geologist William Hamilton and his second wife Margaret Frances Florence Dillon. * Maria Theresa Lister (d. 1863) married the politician William Vernon Harcourt, by whom she had a son,

Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (born Reginald Vernon Harcourt; 31 January 1863 – 24 February 1922), was a British Liberal Party politician who held the Cabinet post of Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1910 to 1915. Lord ...

. * Alice Beatrice Lister (d. 1898) married

Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk JP (27 December 1830 – 24 November 1908), known as Sir Algernon Borthwick, Bt, between 1887 and 1895, was a British journalist and Conservative politician. He was the owner of the ''Morning Post'' (which m ...

, owner of the London newspaper the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'', by whom she had a daughter, Lilian Margaret Frances Borthwick, who married

Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, Territorial Decoration, TD, Justice of the peace, JP, Deputy lieutenant, DL (21 July 1864 – 21 September 1943) was a British nobleman, soldier and newspaper o ...

. Her husband died in 1842.

Second marriage

In 1844 she remarried, to

Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet, (21 April 180613 April 1863) was a British statesman and man of letters. He is best known for preserving neutrality in 1862 when the British cabinet debated intervention in the American Civil War. Earl ...

. Lewis's career was promoted by his wife in London society and by her family. Lewis died in

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

in Oxford in 1865 from cancer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Maria Theresa 1803 births 1865 deaths 19th-century British women writers English biographers

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

Wives of baronets Women biographers