Sarah Derith,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

''Wright'' (1680-1745), was a politically active Swedish (originally British) countess and salon holder, married to the Swedish politician count

Carl Gyllenborg Count Carl Gyllenborg (7 March 1679 – 9 December 1746) was a Swedish statesman and author. Biography He was born in Stockholm, the son of Count Jacob Gyllenborg (1648-1701). His father was a Member of Parliament and of the Royal Council, who ...

. She was the daughter of John Wright, esq; attorney-general of Jamaica, and married first to Elias Deritt. She was known as a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Sympathiser. In 1710, she married the Swedish diplomat

, at the time posted in London. She was at the time a wealthy widow with a salon that gathered a large net of influential people in from the political, cultural, scientific and merchant world. After their marriage, her spouse also used her salon to benefit Swedish interests in Great Britain by creating a pro-Swedish attitude with the British politicians attending her salon. Sarah Wright was a jacobite, and worked for reinstating the Stuart dynasty on the British throne. Carl Gyllenborg was implicated in an attempted coup planned by Wright, placed in house arrest and expelled: his part in the affair is unknown. After his return to Sweden, he financed his political career with his spouse's money. Sarah Wright participated in the political life also in Sweden, and are mentioned alongside

Hedvig Catharina Lillie Hedvig is a given name. Notable people with the name include: People *Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie (1732–1800), Swedish noblewoman of French descent *Hedvig Catharina Lilje (1695–1745), Swedish noblewoman, salonist and informal amateur-politi ...

as examples of the politically active women in Sweden during the

Age of Liberty In Swedish and Finnish history, the Age of Liberty ( sv, frihetstiden; fi, vapauden aika) was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with Charles XII's death in 1718 ...

. In 1734, when the sexual relationship between

Hedvig Taube Hedvig Ulrika Taube (31 October 1714 – 11 February 1744), also Countess von Hessenstein was a Swedish courtier and countess, a Holy Roman countess of the Empire, and royal mistress to king Frederick I of Sweden from 1731 to 1744. She is regarded ...

and King

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I ( sv, Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and (as ''Frederick I'') also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730. He ascended the throne f ...

was publicly recognised after the birth of a son, Taube was initially socially boycotted when the female members of the aristocracy refused to pay her visits. Sarah Wright belonged to the three noblewomen who broke this boycott by visiting Taube in the company of her husband, Eleonora Magdalena Wachtmeister and Eleonora Lindheim. During the visit, they asked for favours from the monarch through Taube, which broke the boycott and started the political position of Taube as an intermediary.

References

* Norrhem, Svante (2007). Kvinnor vid maktens sida : 1632–1772. (Women alongside power: 1632–1772) Lund: Nordic Academic Press. Libris 10428618. (Swedish)
A new and general biographical dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derith, Sarah 1680 births 1745 deaths British salon-holders English expatriates in Sweden