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Lady Dorothy Fanny Nevill (''née'' Walpole; 1 April 1826 – 24 March 1913) was an English writer, hostess,
horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
, and plant collector from the Walpole and Nevill families. She was a founding member of the Conservative Primrose League, collected art, and cultivated a social network of talented friends including writers, artists, and politicians.


Family and education

Nevill was born at 2
Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...
, one of five children of Horatio Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford (1783–1858) and Mary Fawkener, daughter of William Augustus Fawkener, sometime envoy extraordinary at St Petersburg and close friend of
Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
. Nevill was tutored by a
governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...
in French, Greek, Italian and Latin.


Scandal and marriage

In 1847, Nevill was embroiled in a scandal when she was linked with George Smythe, MP, heir to a peerage. Smythe refused to marry her and this destroyed her reputation. Later in 1847, Nevill married a cousin twenty years her senior. Her husband was Reginald Henry Nevill (d. 1878), a grandson of the 1st Earl of Abergavenny. Their marriage produced six children, only four of whom survived beyond childhood including Meresia Nevill. Nevill travelled extensively and cultivated a large circle of literary and artistic friends, with a sprinkling of politicians, including
James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...
, Richard Cobden,
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...
and
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
, whom she greatly admired. She was however, never received by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
.


Work as a horticulturist

In 1851 the Nevills acquired a large Sussex property, 'Dangstein' near Rogate. Dorothy Nevill turned the estate garden into a horticultural landmark. She employed 34 gardeners in her cultivation of
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...
s, nepenthes, and other tropical plants. Her exotic plants were housed in seventeen conservatories and were the subject of numerous articles in journals on horticulture. Through her plants, Nevill became friendly with both
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and Joseph Hooker at
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
. She supplied
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
with rare plants for his researches. Dorothy was particularly known as an orchid grower, leading to a correspondence with Darwin that began in November 1861 when he wrote to ask for specimens to further his research towards his
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
on orchids. Nevill was delighted to comply, and was duly acknowledged with a presentation copy. She kept exotic birds and mammals on the estate, farmed
silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...
s and maintained a museum of her collections. After her husband's death, he left all his money to their surviving children to curtail her expenditures. Nevill moved to 'Stillyans' near Heathfield in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, which she rented from one of her botanist friends, Robert Hogg. The breadth of her interests was summarized by
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
in a sketch of her life:


Collector

In the 1860s Lady Dorothy had established a large ceramic collection including Sèvres porcelain objects. She knew
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
, Empress Eugénie, Princess Mathilde and Prince Demidoff. After the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
she regularly visited Paris for her collections.


Salon hostess

Nevill was a noted
conversationalist Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
- "The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." - and leading society hostess. Her salons attracted celebrities and politicians. She served on the first committee of the Primrose League.


Memoirist

Nevill wrote a number of volumes of memoirs:
''Reminiscences''
(1906)
''Leaves from the Notebooks of Lady Dorothy Nevill''
(1907)
''Under Five Reigns''
(1910) *''My Own Times'' (1912).
''Mannington and the Walpoles, Earls of Orford''
(1894)


Death

Lady Dorothy died in 1913 at her home at 45 Charles Street,
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
, where a memorial plaque was unveiled on 8 September 1998. It is a short walk to the house on
Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...
where she had been born nearly 88 years prior.


Children and legacy

Her son, Ralph Nevill, wrote '' Life and Letters of Lady Dorothy Nevill'' (1919). Her daughter, Meresia Nevill was also a leading worker for the Primrose League. She served for many years as treasurer of the ''Ladies' Grand Council'' and died in London on 26 October 1918.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevill, Lady Dorothy 1826 births 1913 deaths 19th-century English memoirists 20th-century English memoirists 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English women writers Writers from London English gardeners English women memoirists Daughters of British earls Dorothy Women horticulturists and gardeners English horticulturists People from Reigate People from Mayfair Nobility from London