Hamilton, Mary, Lady, 1739-1816

Lady Mary Hamilton (1739-1816), novelist; author of Munster Village (1778).

From the description of Lady Mary Hamilton papers, 1758-1863. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702165069

From the description of Lady Mary Hamilton papers, 1758-1863. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84553433

Lady Mary Hamilton was born Lady Mary Leslie, youngest daughter of Alexander Leslie, 5th Earl of Leven and Melville, and Lady Elizabeth Monypenny Leslie. She married Dr. James Walker of Innerdovat, physician to the prison hospital in Edinburgh, on January 5, 1762. It was said to have been a "romantic" match, but she and Walker came to lead very separate lives.

According to her grandson, Lady Mary bore ten children, several of whom died in infancy. In 1782 she met and became involved with George Robinson Hamilton, a cousin of the Duke of Hamilton, and removed to France with him and two of her daughters, Betsey and Isabella. After the French Revolution, Betsey married Paul Thiébault, who became General Thiébault, while Isabella married Etienne de Jouy.

Lady Mary Hamilton, as she styled herself, was best known for her novel Munster Village (1778), a utopian work depicting a community of women pursuing higher education, but she also published Letters from the Duchess de Crony (1777); The Life of Mrs. Justman (1782); and The Duc de Popoli (1810).

George Robinson Hamilton died in October, 1797. Some time after his death Lady Mary moved to Amiens, where Sir Herbert Croft became a member of her household. She died there early in 1816, shortly before Croft himself.

From the guide to the Lady Mary Hamilton papers, 1758-1863, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)