Lady Louisa Stuart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louisa Stuart
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Lady Louisa Stuart in 1851, at the age of ninety-three, sketch in oils by Sir George Hayter
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| Born | 12 August 1757 |
| Died | 4 August 1851 (aged 93) |
| Parent(s) | John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute Mary Montagu |
Lady Louisa Stuart (born August 12, 1757 – died August 4, 1851) was a British writer who lived for almost 94 years. She was known for her interesting letters and observations about the people and times she lived in.
Contents
Growing Up
Louisa Stuart was one of six daughters born to John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. He was a close friend of the future King George III. Her mother was Mary Stuart, Countess of Bute. Louisa's parents also had five sons.
Even though her father was Scottish, the family spent a lot of time at their large home in London. In 1762, they bought a country estate called Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire.
Her Father's Role
When King George III became king in 1760, Louisa's father, Lord Bute, became the Prime Minister in 1762. He was not very popular with the English people for several reasons. He was Scottish, and many thought he was too close to the King. Lord Bute left his job as Prime Minister in 1763, when Louisa was five years old. After that, he spent his time at Luton Hoo, focusing on botany (the study of plants) and gardening.
Her Mother's Family
Louisa's mother, the Countess of Bute, was the daughter of a famous writer and traveler, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
By the age of ten, Louisa began to write, just like her grandmother. She started a French novel and planned a play about ancient Rome. Her brothers sometimes teased her about how much she loved learning.
Social Life and Observations
As a young woman, Lady Louisa Stuart went to many social events in London with her mother. She also kept up with the latest books and wrote letters to her friends. She was very good at observing people and what was happening around her. She kept a notebook where she wrote down her thoughts about her friends and the people she met.
A writer named Fanny Burney often met Lady Bute and Lady Louisa. She described Lady Bute as "forbidding to strangers" but fun and lively with friends. Burney once wrote that both mother and daughter were "in such high spirits themselves that they kept up all the conversation between them, with a vivacity, an acuteness, an archness, and an observation on men and manners so clear and sagacious." This means they were very witty and smart in their conversations.
Family Members
Louisa had many brothers and sisters who became important people.
Her Brothers
Her brothers included:
- John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute: He was a Member of Parliament and later a Fellow of the Royal Society.
- Sir Charles Stuart: A soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He became a lieutenant-general.
- William Stuart: A clergyman who became the Archbishop of Armagh.
- James Archibald Stuart: Another soldier who started the 92nd Regiment of Foot.
Her Sisters
Her sisters included:
- Lady Mary Stuart: She married James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale.
- Lady Anne Stuart: She married Lord Warkworth.
- Lady Jane Stuart: She married George Macartney.
- Lady Caroline Stuart: She married John Dawson.
Love and Marriage
When Lady Louisa was thirteen, she fell in love with her second cousin, William Medows. He was a soldier, and her father, Lord Bute, did not think he was a good match for her. So, he stopped their relationship. Lady Louisa was very sad about this. She wrote that Medows was "the most agreeable man I ever met with, and one of the most humorous."
Later that same year, Medows married another woman. He went on to become a high-ranking general and a governor.
No Marriage for Louisa
Louisa Stuart was not considered a beautiful woman. Fanny Burney wrote that Louisa had "parts equal to those of her mother, with a deportment and appearance infinitely more pleasing: yet she is far from handsome, but proves how well beauty may be occasionally missed when understanding and vivacity unite to fill up her place." This means Louisa was smart and lively, which made up for not being beautiful.
Louisa never fell in love again after William Medows. However, she did have other people interested in her. One was Henry Dundas, a politician who later became Viscount Melville. Another was John Charles Villiers. Her parents wanted her to marry Villiers, and she thought about it. But she decided that a "love match without any love is but a bad business." Because of this, she never married.
Louisa later became a close friend of the famous writer Sir Walter Scott. Their friendship lasted from the 1790s until Scott's death in 1832. Scott often sent his writings to Louisa for her thoughts, saying she was the best critic he knew.
Her Writings
Lady Louisa Stuart did not want her writings to be published with her name on them. This was because ladies of her social standing were not expected to be published authors. It wasn't until 1895, more than 40 years after she died, that her work was published under her name.
Much of Louisa's writing is still in the form of unpublished memories and letters. These letters were mostly sent to other women. People became more interested in her as someone who observed her times towards the end of the 1800s.
Published Works
Between 1895 and 1898, Mrs. Godfrey Clark edited and published three books of Louisa's work called Gleanings from an Old Portfolio. Later, James A. Home published Lady Louisa Stuart: Selections from her Manuscripts (1899) and two books of Letters of Lady Louisa Stuart to Miss Louisa Clinton (1901 and 1903).
Louisa also wrote a memoir about Lady Mary Coke in 1827. She also wrote an essay called Biographical Anecdotes of Lady M. W. Montagu. This essay was published without her name on it. In it, she shared her views on politics and supported the Tory side.
Louisa also wrote her own poems, including fables and a ballad.
Her Views
Louisa Stuart was not part of the Bluestockings, a group of educated women who met to discuss literature. While her writing had a bit of humor, it didn't have the same mutual admiration as the Bluestockings. She didn't like it when people from lower social classes were welcomed into high society. She made fun of "college geniuses with nothing but a book in their pockets."
One expert, Jill Rubenstein, described Louisa as "Tory to the bone." This means she strongly supported the Tory political party. She never forgot how her father was treated by his political enemies. Another expert, Professor Karl Miller, praised Louisa's "magnificent pieces of writing." He called her "the least-known, but by no means the least, of the good writers of her long lifetime."
Later Life and Death
In her later years, Louisa Stuart lived in a house in London at 108, Gloucester Place. From there, she would walk in Regent's Park. At home, she enjoyed reading her books. Even though she was somewhat private, she was also very social at times. She destroyed many of her writings, but she kept writing letters and visiting large country houses.
A few months before she died, an artist named Sir George Hayter sketched her. Lady Louisa Stuart died at her home in London on August 4, 1851, just before her 94th birthday.
Images for kids
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Lady Louisa Stuart in 1851, at the age of ninety-three, sketch in oils by Sir George Hayter
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Lady Louisa's father, the Earl of Bute
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William Medows
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Lady Louisa Stuart's family home at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire, as it was in her day
