Gender politics
Five women who challenged the Westminster boys’ club in the 18th century
The mother of Great Britain Queen Anne Anne (1665–1714) is remembered as an ineffective monarch, one beset by illness and shyness and dependent on court favourites. More recent biographies have revised that view, recognising the flourishing of culture during her reign, as well as the important constitutional and political moments she oversaw – not least of which was the 1707 Acts of Union, aligning the kingdoms of England and Scotland in a single sovereign state, Great Britain.
The ‘she-dictator’ Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Born into Hertfordshire gentry, Churchill (1660–1744) found her way to power through a childhood friendship with the future Queen Anne, and marriage to John Churchill, who would become a military hero. Emerging as Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, they had extraordinary political influence. After she lost her posts at court, Sarah retained a foothold in Whig politics as the matriarch of an expansive family, who were smoothly matched off to aristocrats, MPs and ministers.
The shadowy ‘ insinuator’ Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset
Somerset (1667–1722) was a powerful player in the politics of Anne’s court. Jonathan Swift warned that behind her courtly manners lay “a most insinuating woman”, and she was regarded by many as a behind-the-scenes protagonist who helped bring down the Marlboroughs. She was made lady of the bedchamber in 1702. Despite the rise of Abigail Masham, it was Somerset who replaced Marlborough in the key position of groom of the stole.
The power broker Elizabeth Hervey, Countess of Bristol
Seventeen children and a husband who preferred horse races at Newmarket to Westminster debates did not stop Hervey (1676–1741) making her mark in politics. She courted the Marlboroughs and the queen to find court posts and empty parliamentary seats for her brood. She and her MP husband were elevated to the peerage, first as baron and lady in 1703 and then earl and countess in 1714, and produced a dynasty of often eccentric Whig MPs and courtiers.
The devastating satirist Delarivier Manley
Often described as the first political journalist, Manley (c1670–1724) was a writer who wielded her pen as a weapon in the early 1700s. Her 1709 novel New Atalantis (shown right) satirised contemporary debate with devastating attacks on Whig politicians. It led to her arrest for libel, but she argued her work was a fiction – making it impossible for her victims to punish her, since they would have proven themselves the ugly characters she portrayed.