Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington

Harriet Devine (Edge Hill University)
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Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington, famous for her beauty, notorious for her supposedly scandalous life, was at the centre of London literary life for more than thirty years. The friend of Byron, Dickens, Bulwer-Lytton, Thackeray and Disraeli among others, she presided over a series of glittering salons and corresponded indefatigably with many of the best-known writers of the day. She was also a writer of novels, poems, short stories and travel books, and edited several successful annuals and gift-books.

Born – as Margaret Power – in the small village of Knockbrit in County Tipperary, Ireland, she was the eldest daughter of an impoverished Irish squire and his well-born wife. A shy, and not overly attractive child, she was educated by a lady well-wisher and by a course of

1146 words

Citation: Devine, Harriet. "Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1679, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1679 Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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