HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Frances Anne Vane, Viscountess Vane (formerly Hamilton, ''née'' Hawes; c. January 1715 – 31 March 1788), was a British
memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) ...
known for her highly public adulterous relationships.


Early life and first marriage

Frances Anne Hawes was the daughter of Susanna and Francis Hawes, and probably born in Winchester Street, London. She was baptised on 14 January 1715 at St Peter le Poer. Her father, a stockbroker and clerk to the Treasurer of the Navy, became quite wealthy, and was appointed director of the
South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...
in February 1715. However, he lost most of his fortune as a result of the South Sea Sufferer's Act 1721, following the failed attempt to inflate the price of the South Sea Company's stock. Thus, the future Viscountess Vane grew up in a family plagued by financial problems and could expect little or no
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
. Described as the best
minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form tha ...
dancer in England, she was good-looking and vivacious enough to attract the attention of the 4th Duke of Hamilton's second son, Lord William Hamilton. Her father tried to prevent their relationship, but the couple eloped in May 1733, and Frances Hawes became known as Lady William Hamilton. The couple hurried to consummate the marriage to make it legally binding, fearing that her father might try to have it annulled. Lord William served as Vice-Chamberlain to
Caroline of Ansbach Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline; 1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and List of Hanoverian royal consorts, Electress of Hanover from 11 J ...
but, as the second son, was himself poor enough for the queen to refer to the couple as "handsome beggars". The marriage was short-lived; Lady William was widowed on 11 July next year, shortly after delivering a stillborn child.


Second marriage

Lady William was soon pressured by her family, in-laws, and friends to accept the marriage proposal from William Vane, 2nd Viscount Vane. The couple married on 19 May 1735 in
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
, and Lady William thus became Viscountess Vane. The union became notoriously unhappy. Lady Vane openly despised the man who adored her, frequently ran away and tried to procure a
legal separation Legal separation (sometimes judicial separation, separate maintenance, divorce ', or divorce from bed-and-board) is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is gra ...
. During the couple's visit to Paris in 1736, she fled with the 1st Earl Ferrers's sixth surviving son, Sewallis Shirley. Shirley and Lady Vane lived together in Brussels from 1736 until 1738. Her husband desperately tried to persuade her to return, paying people to search for her and promising a reward in the newspapers for any information about her location in January 1737. Lady Vane was not amused by his efforts. When Shirley left her, she embarked on a liaison with Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley. The relationship with Lord Berkeley ended in 1741, when she accepted her husband's offer of an income and a separate household. Lord Vane and the society believed that her other lovers included Walpole's rival Sir Thomas Aston, 4th Baronet, and Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue, but Lady Vane denied the allegations and insisted they were her friends.


''Memoirs of a Lady of Quality''

In 1751,
Tobias Smollett Tobias George Smollett (bapt. 19 March 1721 – 17 September 1771) was a Scottish writer and surgeon. He was best known for writing picaresque novels such as ''The Adventures of Roderick Random'' (1748), ''The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'' ...
included the ''Memoirs of a Lady of Quality'' in his novel '' The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle''. Though the memoirs, written in amatory fiction, were published anonymously and revised for publication by John Shebbeare, it was clear from the beginning that the "lady of quality" was Lady Vane.
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...
wrote in a letter the same year: In her memoirs, the Viscountess Vane mocks contemporary social and moral conventions, and describes her emotional devastation following the death of her first husband. Walpole gossiped in the same letter: Like Lady Townshend, Lady Vane shocked society not only by refusing to portray herself as
chaste Chaste refers to practicing chastity. Chaste may also refer to: * Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral * Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave * Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec, Ca ...
, but also by unrepentantly advertising her adulterous relationships. In 1751,
Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...
referred to her and other scandalous memoirists as "a Set of Wretches, wishing to perpetuate their Infamy". Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's reaction to the memoirs was more careful and restrained. In a 1752 letter to her daughter, the Countess of Bute, she wrote: " ady Vane'sHistory, rightly considered, would be more instructive to young Women than any Sermon I know. They may see there the mortifications and variety of misery are the unavoidable consequences of Galantrys."


Later life and death

After the publication of her memoirs, Lady Vane spent most of her time in
Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...
. Her erratic lifestyle soon ruined her husband's finances. Struck by an illness, she was bedridden for the last 20 years of her life. During that time, she contemplated converting to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. She died childless on 31 March 1788 at her home in Hill Street,
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
, London, and was buried in the Vane family vault in Shipborne, Kent. Lord Vane, who had remained faithful to her despite the social humiliation caused by her sexual adventures, died the next year.


References


External links


Frances Hawes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vane, Frances Vane, Viscountess 1710s births 1788 deaths 18th-century English memoirists 18th-century English women writers Vane British women memoirists Writers from London Frances Vane