Mrs Gertrude Barbara Rich Tennant (9 October 1819 – 27 April 1918) was a society hostess in London, the friend and patron of artists and writers. She was born in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, the daughter of Captain Henry Theodosius Browne Collier (1791–1872), son of Admiral Sir

George Collier Vice-Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-r ...

(1738–1795). She was educated in France, where she moved in literary circles. In 1842 she met and was attracted to

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

. In 1846 Gertrude returned to Britain, and married

Charles Tennant Charles Tennant (3 May 1768 – 1 October 1838) was a Scottish chemist and industrialist. He discovered Calcium hypochlorite, bleaching powder and founded an industrial dynasty. Biography Charles Tennant was born at Laigh Corton, Alloway, Ayrs ...

, a wealthy landowner and politician. They had six children - four surviving to adulthood: Alice (1848–1930), who remained unmarried; Charles Coombe Tennant (1852-1928);

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

(1855–1926), who married the explorer

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

; and Eveleen (1856–1937), who married the spiritualist and classical scholar

Frederic William Henry Myers Frederic William Henry Myers (6 February 1843 – 17 January 1901) was a British poet, classicist, philologist, and a founder of the Society for Psychical Research. Myers' work on psychical research and his ideas about a "subliminal self" we ...

(1843–1901). After her husband died in 1873, Gertrude became a society hostess, recreating the literary salons she had known in Paris at her home in London at 2 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall. In 1878 she met Flaubert again, and she later helped to edit his correspondence.

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