Marguerite Gardiner, countess of Blessington, Irish-born writer and literary hostess. The Lady Blessington manuscript material in the Pforzheimer Collection includes writings and correspondence. The writings consist mainly of poems, including odes...
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Marguerite Gardiner, countess of Blessington, Irish-born writer and literary hostess. The Lady Blessington manuscript material in the Pforzheimer Collection includes writings and correspondence. The writings consist mainly of poems, including odes to the British writers L.E.L. and Mrs. S. C. Hall. Also held are notebooks of Lady Blessington's "aphorisms," essays, and story pieces, as well as a biographical account of Captain Charles Hesse, "amatory correspondent" of Princess Charlotte. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1835 to 1840 and discusses her work on the literary magazines and publishing, and friend and family matters. Correspondents include: William Beattie, physician and poet; William Jerdan, journalist; Richard Robert Madden, her biographer; Anne Jackson Mathews, wife of comedian Charles Mathews; and over two dozen others.
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