Mary Nesbitt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Nesbitt
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Painting of Mary Nesbitt by the artist Joshua Reynolds, 1781, Wallace Collection, London
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| Born |
Mary Davis
1742 Covent Garden (alleged), England
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| Died | 1825 (aged 82–83) Paris, France
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| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Socialite |
| Known for | Mixing in the elevated circles of government and royalty in late 18th century Great Britain |
Mary Nesbitt (born 1742/3 – died 1825) was an English upper class socialite who mixed in the elevated circles of government and royalty in late 18th century Great Britain. Her home, Norwood House, in Upper Norwood, then Surrey, now South London, was frequented by men such as George Rose, secretary to the Treasury, and many young aspirants to political office. During the French Revolution she travelled in diplomatic circles on the continent. This may indicate that she had been recruited by prime minister William Pitt as a government agent in his covert attempts to restore the French monarchy.
She was forced to let Norwood House due to reduced financial circumstances in the early 19th century. Mary then frequently lived abroad, where in 1808 she met Madame Tussaud and bought her a house in Crystal Palace. It is believed from there Tussaud took up her world-famous waxwork museum in 1821 at Montreuil-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France and in 1822 in Switzerland.
Nesbitt is believed to have died, aged eighty-two, in Paris, where she was buried on 4 November 1825.
