1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey Listener discretion advised. The story 3 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: of this episode begins with a portrait. Two girls are 4 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: posing in a green garden, a garden in which you 5 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: can see the dome of London's Saint Paul's Cathedral in 6 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: the distance. On the right and slightly in the foreground 7 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: sits a young woman on a bench. Her dress looks 8 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: a bit like a pastry, a pink puff covered in 9 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: the sugary icing of a semi sheer fabric. The girl's 10 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: neck is adorned with a coiled strand of pearls. Her 11 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: cool toned, pale cheeks are flushed, and her hair styled 12 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: low is go harnessed with over a dozen small roses. 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: With her left hand, her thumb holds her place in 14 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: a book, the book's painted edges matching the rosy color 15 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: of her confectionery dress. With the girl's right hand, she 16 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: holds onto the arm of another young woman, someone she 17 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: wants close by. The second woman is positioned slightly behind 18 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: her seated companion and appears to be in a carefree motion, 19 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,759 Speaker 1: eager to explore her surroundings. Once the hours of portrait 20 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: sitting are complete. This woman's dress is a lushly draped 21 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: silk satin wrap, the champagne to her companion's cake. She 22 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: also wears a tight strand of pearls, though hers are 23 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: slightly larger, which match the girl's incredibly enviable pair of 24 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: pearl babble earrings. The second woman's cheeks also have a 25 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: rosy blush, but as opposed to her sitting mates, her 26 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: complexion is warm and dark. Her hair is also worn low, 27 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: but atop it sits a silk turban adorned with a 28 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: teal ostrich feather. With her left hand, she carries a 29 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: basket of fruit, overflowing with grapes, pears, and what look 30 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: to be peaches. With her right hand, she touches her 31 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: cheek with her index finger, highlighting a slightly mischievous smile. 32 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: These two girls are cousins, Lady Mary Elizabeth and Dido 33 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Bell. It's a beautiful portrait. The colors are romantic, 34 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: the texture of the clothing is gorgeously rendered, and the 35 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: air of contentedness imbued portrays a clear sisterly love. The 36 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: portrait's fame, however, stems from the obvious. It's a portrait 37 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,839 Speaker 1: of society ladies from the seventeen hundreds in which one 38 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: of the women is black, and she isn't in a 39 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: position of servitude. No, Instead, the cousins are portrayed as 40 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: relative equals. Neither stands out to the viewer's eye more 41 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: than the other. While the painting does not tell the 42 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: story of Dido Bell's life, I believe it's important to 43 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: start with as it's this painting that gave Dido Bell 44 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: new life in modern culture. The lovely twenty thirteen film Bell, 45 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: an embellished biopic of Dido's life, was born when screenwriter 46 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: Missan Sage discovered the portrait on display at Scone Palace 47 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: and knew there had to be more to the story 48 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: than the portrait's label Lady Elizabeth Murray and Dido the 49 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: Housekeeper's daughter. Dido has also had an even more recent 50 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: resurgence in our own cultural imagination thanks to the popularity 51 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: of Netflix's Bridgerton, which portrays an integrated regency society and 52 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: has spurred headlines like Bridgerton's Black Presence isn't total fans 53 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: to see it's hidden history. Hidden history is pretty accurate, 54 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: though we have a much better picture than we once did. 55 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: There isn't an abundance of information on Dido's real life, 56 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: and in this case, the truth often sounds like fiction. 57 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: There are remarkable ways that parts of Dido's story seem 58 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: like well, a movie. In this sense, the Mona Lisa 59 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: smile in her portrait is all the more fascinating all 60 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: the secrets she holds that will never know. I'm Danish 61 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: schwartz and this is noble blood. In seventeen sixty one, 62 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: an English ship called the HMS Trent docked in the 63 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: West Indies. It was captained by Sir John Lindsay, a 64 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,239 Speaker 1: naval officer and younger son of a baronet. Younger sons 65 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: had limited options to make name for themselves, and the 66 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: navy was often a solid choice. Sir John Lindsay was 67 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: doing just that, earning prestige in the Seven Years' War. 68 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: The fruit of that labor was his being made Captain 69 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: of the Trent in seventeen fifty seven, where his job 70 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: was mainly to capture Spanish ships in both English and 71 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: West Indies water. Years later, stories would be told back 72 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: home in England about one of Lindsay's missions. They said 73 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: that aboard one of these Spanish ships, he took a 74 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: liking to a woman, a slave. The woman's name was Maria, 75 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: and she became his mistress. The legitimacy of the story 76 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 1: is questionable, but it's as plausible a meeting as any 77 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: other explanation. The Trent did keep records of slaves from 78 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: captured ships, now essentially prisoners of war, but the name 79 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: Maria specifically never pops up. We also know from these 80 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: records that men of these prisoners who had been captured 81 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: in Havana were discharged in seventeen sixty three onto a 82 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: place called Bell Island. If the telephone version of events 83 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: does have any truth to it, and Maria was one 84 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: of these Havana prisoners, Bell Island could in theory play 85 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: an etymological role in the story of Dido Elizabeth Bell. 86 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:29,239 Speaker 1: What we know for sure is that Dido was born 87 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: to an enslaved woman most likely called Maria, and Sir 88 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: John Lindsay in seventeen sixty one. Dido was likely born 89 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: at sea, and Maria likely remained on board the Trent 90 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: with Lindsay until the ship was decommissioned in seventeen sixty three. 91 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: At the end of the War Regulations and Instructions relating 92 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: to His Majesty's service at Sea's Article thirty eight of 93 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 1: the Rules for Captains and Commander states that quote, he 94 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: is not to care women, to see, nor entertain any 95 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: foreigners to serve in the ship without orders from the 96 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: Admiralty end quote. John Lindsay certainly would have had a 97 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: copy of that manual. But it's possible he just skimmed it. 98 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: It does seem kind of dry. You may be shocked 99 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: to hear that. There was evidently a lot of skimming 100 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: of the rule book. It was not uncommon for wives 101 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: and mistresses to be aboard Royal Navy ships. It was 102 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: even the origin of the phrase son of a gun. 103 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: It was also not uncommon for a child to be 104 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: born to an enslaved woman and an Englishman. The English, 105 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: with their ever enduring love of micro classifications and deeply 106 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: arbitrary rules, had devised a system of identifying these children. 107 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: A quote Mullato described the offspring of a white and 108 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: black pairing, a sambo referred to that of a mulatto 109 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: and black black pairing, and a quadroon was yet another 110 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: category for that of a mulatto and white pairing because 111 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: of the inherent drastic power dynamics of the parents in 112 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: these cases, many of whom would have been slaves and 113 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: slave masters. Many of these children were often the product 114 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: of rape or coercion. We don't know the details of 115 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: the relationship between John and Maria, nor the details of 116 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: Dido's conception, just as we know next to nothing about 117 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: Maria herself. The extent of Lindsay's affection for his daughter, however, 118 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: leads historians to believe there was at least some form 119 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: of fondness on his end for Dido's mother. If it 120 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: had not been for this fondness, though, what would have 121 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: happened to Dido. Most children in her situation, that is, 122 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: born into slavery with the distinction of being called quote mulatto, 123 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: were often treated differently than field slaves and became housekeepers 124 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: or seamstresses or wet nurses to white babies. There was 125 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: nothing particularly unique about the circumstances of Dido's birth. The 126 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: uniqueness of her life would come later. Understanding that uniqueness 127 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: requires discussing John Lindsay's lineage a bit more. His father, 128 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: Sir Alexander Lindsay, was the third Baronet of Evelex and 129 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: his mother, Amelia Murray, was the daughter of the Viscount 130 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: of Stormont. More importantly to our story, however, is that 131 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: she was the sister to William Murray, first Earl of Mansfield, 132 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: also known as the Lord, Chief Justice and Master of 133 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: his domain at Kenwood. Lord Mansfield was an incredibly powerful man, 134 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: now referred to as the most powerful British justice of 135 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: the century, and it is he who was responsible for 136 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: pushing forward many of England's abolitionist reforms. It was a 137 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: critical time in English history, and Dido's great uncle was 138 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: the man with the power to change everything. Kenwood, the 139 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:15,199 Speaker 1: estate Lord Mansfield acquired for four thousand pounds in seventeen 140 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: fifty four, would be Dido's home. It was there that 141 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: she was raised as an englishwoman by the Lord and 142 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: his wife, Elizabeth Finch. The understanding we can construct of 143 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: the Mansfields is that they were both serious looking people 144 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: who were unexpectedly caring and funny. There was a bust 145 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,319 Speaker 1: sculpted of Lady Mansfield that portrays her sternness, but her 146 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,319 Speaker 1: surviving letters reflect a woman full of warmth and humor. 147 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: Even the powerful law man, Lord Mansfield apparently didn't take 148 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: himself too seriously. There's an account of a visit to 149 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: Kenwood from a relative who said of the Chief Justice quote, 150 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: he says, with the gravest face, the most comical things imaginable. 151 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: The couple was happy, but they were unable to have children. 152 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was thirty four when she married her husband, considerably 153 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:15,839 Speaker 1: passed society's ideal age for marriage and childbirth at the time, 154 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: but she would still end up with two surrogate daughters. 155 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: Some time before these arrangements, Lord Mansfield, recognizing that the 156 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 1: couple would not have children of their own, decided that 157 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: he would leave his estate to his nephew, David, the 158 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: new Viscount Stormont. Letters reveal he was very close to 159 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: both his uncle and aunt, some of which comes from 160 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,840 Speaker 1: his time abroad as an envoy in Warsaw. In seventeen 161 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: fifty nine, there, in a love match, he married a 162 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: young widow and the daughter of a Saxon diplomat, a 163 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: woman named Henrietta Frederica de Beauregarde. A year later, the 164 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: couple had a daughter, Elizabeth, which you may have noticed 165 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: was a favored name for murray Way women. Only six 166 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: years later, Henrietta died at twenty nine, and the loss 167 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: seemed to have triggered a nervous breakdown in David. Between 168 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: his mental state and diplomatic duties, he was not in 169 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 1: a position to adequately care for six year old Elizabeth, 170 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: who looked so much like her deceased mother, so the 171 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: girl was brought to Kenwood and placed in the care 172 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 1: of her father's beloved aunt and uncle. Here's quite the 173 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: NEPO baby anecdote. With his daughter in England, David, no doubt, 174 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: thanks to the influence of his powerful uncle, actually became 175 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: ambassador to France from seventeen seventy two until seventeen seventy eight, 176 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: and was actually a confidante to Louis the sixteenth and 177 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette. If you heard that date above and it 178 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: sparked something in your brain, you're right. He timed his 179 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: exit pretty much perfectly. David also eventually remarried a woman 180 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: thirty years younger than him, and when the couple and 181 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: the five children they had together moved back to England, 182 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: Elizabeth continued to stay with her aunt, uncle and cousin Dido. 183 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: We don't actually know whether Dido or Elizabeth arrived at 184 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: Kenwood first, but many historians believe it was possible Dido 185 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: was accepted into the home as a companion for Elizabeth. 186 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: As is the case with many stories in Dido's life, 187 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: we know the outcomes, but not the circumstances. She was 188 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: likely left in the care of the Murrays so her 189 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: father could continue his military career, and it's worth noting 190 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: again how remarkable it was at the time that he 191 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 1: brought Dido back to London in the first place, and 192 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 1: to add to those remarkable circumstances, the fact that Lord 193 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: and Lady Mansfield accepted Dido into their home as their 194 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: own blood. The only surviving account mentioning Dido's birth reads 195 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: quote Sir John Lindsey, having taken her mother prisoner in 196 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: a Spanish vessel, brought her to England, where she delivered 197 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: of this girl and then with child. This was written 198 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:20,360 Speaker 1: by a visitor to Kenwood, seemingly recounting the story as 199 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: told to him by Lord Mansfield, but it's hard to 200 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: piece together how accurate that version of events actually is. 201 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: It doesn't seem to line up with the dates we 202 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: hear in other accounts, including Dido's birth in seventeen sixty 203 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: one and Lindsay's return to England in seventeen sixty five. 204 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: Speaking of dates, our first dated record of Dido being 205 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: in England comes from the November seventeen sixty six baptismal 206 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: register of Saint George's Bloomsbury. The record lists the names 207 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: of children, the names of their parents, and their birth dates, 208 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: all relative close to the date of baptism, with one exception. 209 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: Twentieth on the list is one Dido Elizabeth, daughter of 210 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: Bell and Maria, his wife, aged five years. Though this 211 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: mysterious Bell is odd, it would be odder if there 212 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: was another Dido Elizabeth, sharing the name of the African 213 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: queen of legend and the Murray family women at the 214 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: Murray's parish in eighteenth century England, baptism took place as 215 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: close to a child's birth as possible, fearing the statistically 216 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: likely possibility of an early death. With this information, we 217 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: can probably conclude that Dido arrived in the Mansfield's care, 218 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: if not England, at five years old and around the 219 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 1: same time as her cousin. It's also possible she was 220 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: brought into their care as an infant and they only 221 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: decided to baptize her upon the arrival of Elizabeth. When 222 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: it was decided that the two girls would be brought 223 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: up to time together. There's no record of Maria having 224 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: ever been in London, so we will never know which 225 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: version of events is true. The Bell listed is likely 226 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: a pseudonym for Lindsay, due to both his being absent 227 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 1: at the baptism and dido status as a bastard. In 228 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 1: official documents going forward, Dido would always be referred to 229 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: as Dido. Elizabeth Bell spelled b E l l E, 230 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: a feminized version of her father's fake name, meaning beautiful. 231 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: So here we are at Kenwood with a unique family dynamic. 232 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: One of the most powerful men in England, his wife, 233 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: and their two great nieces, one of whom is both 234 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: half black and illegitimate. Originally a country house for the couple, 235 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: Lord and Lady Mansfield decided the estate just outside of 236 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: London would be the permanent residence at which they would 237 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: raise the two girls. To give you an idea of 238 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: the kind of life Kenwood provided Dido and Elizabeth, here's 239 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: some information taken from an inventory of the estate in 240 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty one. Kenwood contained over eighty rooms, which included 241 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 1: a music room, a schoolroom, the Japan Room, the clock Room, 242 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: the Long Gallery, the White Room, the Pink Room, the 243 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: Blue Room. You get the idea. There there was also 244 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: a list of possessions such as Turkish rugs, fine china, 245 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: and a collection of oil paintings. This was only the interior. 246 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: Kenwood was also known for its exquisite gardens, which also 247 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: happened to be the location of the famous portrait Lord 248 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: Mansfield commissioned of his great nieces. While we don't have 249 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 1: recorded accounts of the education of the two girls specifically, 250 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: it's fairly certain they received the standard education of young 251 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: women of their status, likely basic reading and writing, along 252 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,239 Speaker 1: with the skills befitting of an accomplished woman such as 253 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: needle point, piano and dancing. This education was designed not 254 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: for solely enriching the minds of these young women, of course, 255 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: but to prepare them for the marriage market, making them 256 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,439 Speaker 1: as desirable candidate as possible. We'll circle back to the 257 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: conversation of marriage in Dido and Elizabeth's lives in a 258 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: bit from later account. We know Dido and Elizabeth were 259 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 1: great friends, and you can imagine the kind of bond 260 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 1: that forms between two cousins only a year apart in age. 261 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 1: Brought to a new fancy home at such an early 262 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: point in their lives, despite being so young, they had 263 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: both already endured the trauma of losing their mothers. So 264 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 1: to end up with not only a companion, but by 265 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: all accounts, an incredibly loving home on the whole, must 266 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: have fostered between them an environment of real closeness. Much 267 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 1: of our knowledge of Dido's life is pieced together from 268 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: counts of others who visited Kenwood and commented on her. 269 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: One such account came from Thomas Hutchinson, an American guest 270 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: of the Mansfields. Hutchinson had been Governor of Massachusetts, but 271 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: his loyalist opinions on the event known as the Boston 272 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: Tea Party resulted in his exile in London. His diary 273 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: entry on his visit to Kenwood in seventeen seventy nine, 274 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: when Dido would have been around eighteen, provides one of 275 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 1: the fullest descriptions we have of Dido and her life 276 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 1: at Kenwood. He begins by speaking of the Mansfield themself 277 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: dined at Lord Mansfield's in Cainwood. My Lord, at seventy 278 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: four or five has all the vivacity of fifty. He 279 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,640 Speaker 1: gave me a particular account of his releasing two blacks 280 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: from slavery. Since his being Chief Justice, one of the 281 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: case is referred to here is most likely Lord Mansfield's 282 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: most famous case, seventeen seventy two's Somerset v. Stuart. To 283 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: briefly summarize, an enslaved man named James Somerset was owned 284 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: by Charles Stuart, an American man. Stuart brought Somerset with 285 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: him while traveling to England on business, and while there 286 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 1: Somerset escaped. He was eventually recaptured by Stuart, but three 287 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: people made the claim to be Somerset's godparent and appealed 288 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: the arrest as unlawful detention. Lord Mansfield's ruling found that 289 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: capturing and jailing Somerset was illegal on the grounds that 290 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: while slavery was permitted in British colonial territories, no English 291 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:53,159 Speaker 1: laws recognized the existence of slavery, and therefore slavery was 292 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:57,679 Speaker 1: illegal in England. In reading his judgment, he not only 293 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: cited the legality of the case, but the morality, declaring 294 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 1: slavery odious. Contemporary scholars believe his decision to introduce morality 295 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:13,399 Speaker 1: into his ruling was influenced by his close relationship with Dido, 296 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: but back to Hutchinson. He goes on to describe Lady 297 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:23,160 Speaker 1: Mansfield's taste and class, enthusiastically commending her for her age 298 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: appropriate dress as opposed to another lady he recently saw, 299 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: who had the audacity to dress like a young duchess. 300 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: As we will see, Hutchinson is quite obsessed with the 301 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: way women dress. He then pivots to his fascination that 302 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: takes up the bulk of his entry. Dido quote. A 303 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: black came in after dinner and sat with the ladies, 304 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,679 Speaker 1: and after coffee, walked with the company in the gardens, 305 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,160 Speaker 1: one of the young ladies having her arm within the other. 306 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,639 Speaker 1: She had a very high cap, and her wool was 307 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: much frizzled in her neck, not enough to answer the 308 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: large curls. Not in fashion. She is neither handsome nor 309 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: genteel pert enough. I knew her history before, but my 310 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 1: Lord mentioned it again. And this is a quote we 311 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 1: have heard before. Quote Sir John Lindsay, having taken her 312 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: mother prisoner in a Spanish vessel, brought her to England, 313 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,159 Speaker 1: where she was delivered of this girl, of which she 314 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: was then with child, and which was taken care of 315 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: by Lord m and has been educated by his family. 316 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: He calls her Dido, which I suppose is all the 317 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: name she has. He knows he has been reproached for 318 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: showing fondness for her. I dare say not criminal end quote. 319 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: There's a lot to unpack there. For one, there's the 320 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: difference between the way he speaks about Lady Mansfield and 321 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 1: Dido's outfits. Lady Mansfield's dress is perfectly simple, but Dido's curls, 322 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: in his eye, were not extravagant enough. There's also the 323 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,439 Speaker 1: way he describes her appearance as neither handsome nor genteel, 324 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 1: despite the fact that, as we know from her portrait, 325 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: that Dido was beautiful. There's an underlying current that Hutchinson 326 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: doesn't want to say upfront, the sentiment that Dido is 327 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:22,679 Speaker 1: not enough, or rather not white enough. He does argue 328 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: that she is quote pert enough, meaning impertinent or cheeky. 329 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 1: This tells us that Dido was confident, unafraid to not 330 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: only join in the conversation, but likely speak her mind. 331 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: Despite being relegated to the post dinner coffee. Thanks to 332 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: social customs, it was not proper for Dido to dine 333 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 1: with her family when guests were present, but after dinner, 334 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,720 Speaker 1: once the rules relaxed a bit, she could be re 335 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: invited into their night. This paragraph also gives us insight 336 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 1: into her closeness with Elizabeth. Hutchinson witnessed them walking arm 337 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 1: and arm in the gardens. We also gain more insight 338 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 1: into Dido's relationship with Lord Mansfield. The idea that he 339 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: has been quote reproached for showing fondness for her is 340 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,399 Speaker 1: likely connected to his abolitionist views and their influence on 341 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:22,199 Speaker 1: his rulings, as evidenced by the next part in the 342 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,879 Speaker 1: diary entry. Quote, A few years ago there was a 343 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: cause before his lordship brought by a black for recovery 344 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: of his liberty. A Jamaica planter, being asked what judgment 345 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,479 Speaker 1: does his lordship, would give no doubt, he answered, he 346 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,359 Speaker 1: will be set free, for Lord Mansfield keeps a black 347 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: in his house, which governs him and his whole family. Unquote. 348 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: Hutchinson describes Dido's governing as such, quote, she is a 349 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: sort of superintendent over the dairy poultry yard, et cetera, 350 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: which we visited. And she was called upon by my 351 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: Lord every minute for this thing and that, and showed 352 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:09,959 Speaker 1: the greatest attention to everything he said. Hutchinson is trying 353 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: to frame Dido as sort of a servant, but historians 354 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,920 Speaker 1: seem to read a different interpretation that Dido and Lord 355 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 1: Mansfield shared a close relationship and he was instead calling 356 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: upon her every minute to make sure she was included 357 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: as a member of the family. Hutchinson sadly represents the 358 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,119 Speaker 1: mindset of most Englishmen at the time, and likely the 359 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: mindset of most of Kenwood's visitors upon meeting Dido. Kenwood 360 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,159 Speaker 1: would suffer a great loss in seventeen eighty four with 361 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,120 Speaker 1: the passing of Lady Mansfield. The newspapers at the time 362 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: reported that Lord Mansfield was most assidious in the sick chamber, 363 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: constantly administering what the physicians had ordered and sitting up 364 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: several nights together. This once again proves that the couple 365 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,919 Speaker 1: truly loved each other, and there's no doubt that Dido 366 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 1: and Elizabeth also aided in taking care of their sick 367 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:10,680 Speaker 1: aunt surrogate mother. Elizabeth would face another great change the 368 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: next year. It was necessary for Elizabeth, as the daughter 369 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 1: of Lord Stormont, to make a good match, and in 370 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: December seventeen eighty five, she married her cousin George finch Hatton, 371 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 1: Lord Mansfield's nephew, who would later become an MP. Upon 372 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: their marriage, the couple moved to Eastwick Park in Kent, 373 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: leaving Dido without her companion at Kenwood for perhaps the 374 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 1: first time in her life. Dido and Lord Mansfield were 375 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: soon joined by two more of Mansfield's nieces, Lady Anne 376 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 1: and Lady Marjorie Murray, both spinsters, who seemed to have 377 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: come to help run the house. We know this thanks 378 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 1: to a surviving account book from Lady Anne dated January 379 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty five to April seventeen ninety three, which gives 380 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: us some insights into these years of Dido's life. We 381 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:08,240 Speaker 1: learned that from seventeen eighty five Dido received a quarterly 382 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:12,199 Speaker 1: allowance of five pounds, and from seventeen eighty nine this 383 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,640 Speaker 1: was augmented by birthday and Christmas presents of five guineas, 384 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: for a total yearly allowance of thirty pounds. For comparison, however, 385 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: before her marriage, we learned Elizabeth received a yearly allowance 386 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,199 Speaker 1: of one hundred pounds, a reminder of the gap in 387 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: their statuses, but it's also worth noting that that money 388 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 1: wouldn't have been given arbitrarily. We know that Elizabeth attended 389 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,880 Speaker 1: balls with the Princes of Wales, balls that Dido wouldn't 390 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 1: have been allowed to attend, balls for which Elizabeth would 391 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: have needed to purchase dresses, and she would have needed 392 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: to go to other events at which she would have 393 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: needed to be seen and look marriageable. The accounting book 394 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,239 Speaker 1: also tells us that Dido's health was well taken care of. 395 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: In seventeen eighty nine she had two teeth extracted for 396 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,879 Speaker 1: five shillings each, and in seventeen ninety one she was 397 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,840 Speaker 1: given asses milk, a recognized tonic at the time, to 398 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: treat an illness, at the pricey cost of three pounds 399 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: four shillings. Other surviving documents from this time show us 400 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:23,200 Speaker 1: that Dido impressively began to write letters for Lord Mansfield. 401 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: In May seventeen eighty six, she wrote a letter to 402 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 1: a colleague, Justice Buller, about a marine insurance case they 403 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 1: were working on. Her script is elegant and clear, and 404 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: the letter ends with a message, this is wrote by Dido. 405 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: I hope you will be able to read it, whether 406 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,360 Speaker 1: that it was an edition from Dido herself or dictated 407 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 1: by Lord Mansfield. It appears to be playful because the 408 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: letter is quite obviously legible. You can view a scanned 409 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: copy online. After Elizabeth's match was made, Lord Mansfield updated 410 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 1: his will to add an extra two one hundred pounds 411 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,280 Speaker 1: to go to Dido, which he then updated once again, 412 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: writing I think it right considering how she has been 413 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: bred and how she has behaved, to make a better 414 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: provision for Dido. I therefore give her three hundred pounds more. 415 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,240 Speaker 1: It wasn't the only will in which Dido was left 416 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: a sum. In seventeen eighty eight, her father, Sir John Lindsay, died, 417 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: making the following bequest in his will, I further give 418 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: and bequeath on too, my dearest wife, Mary Lindsay, one 419 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: thousand pounds in trust, to be disposed by her for 420 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:41,120 Speaker 1: the benefit of John and Elizabeth, my reputed son and daughter, 421 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: in such a manner as she thinks proper. We know 422 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,760 Speaker 1: nothing of John, only that he was apparently Dido's half 423 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: brother and the product of another affair in Scotland. Sir 424 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 1: Lindsey and his wife Mary never had children together. In 425 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 1: an obituary for Sir Lindsey, Dido was described as a 426 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,959 Speaker 1: mulado brought up in Lord Mansfield's home almost from her infancy, 427 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 1: and whose amiable disposition and accomplishments have earned her the 428 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: highest respect from all his lordship's relations and visits. We 429 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,680 Speaker 1: do not know if Dido and her father ever saw 430 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: each other again in her lifetime, but it's clear he 431 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: continued to care for her despite their distance. She obviously 432 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: was the Elizabeth he referred to as the reputed daughter 433 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: in his will, and there was a generous sum attached 434 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: to it. This is the first mention of Dido in 435 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 1: a public text, and it's a positive portrait. On March twentieth, 436 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety three, Lord Mansfield died at home in Kenwood 437 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: at age eighty eight. Dido, in him lost her father, 438 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: figure with whom she had shared a close relationship, But 439 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: we have no record of how she felt or how 440 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: she moor. All we know is that upon the death 441 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: of her uncle, Dido was now a woman of means. 442 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: Between the inheritance from her father and the allowance in 443 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: Lord Mansfield's will, Dido was once again in a unique 444 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 1: position for women in society. Only now her unique position 445 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: was due to her having her own money with which 446 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: she could make her own choices. Kenwood was left to 447 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,120 Speaker 1: the Vicount Stormont, and it is likely Dido left the 448 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 1: estate for the first time to live elsewhere. The next 449 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 1: we know of Dido is a name change. In seventeen 450 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,959 Speaker 1: ninety four, she changed her last name from Belle to Divinier, 451 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: confirmed with the surviving receipt of her seventeen ninety seven 452 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 1: annuity signed Dido Elizabeth Divinier. So who is that guy? 453 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 1: Jean Luis Charleles Davinier, anglicized as John di Vinier, was 454 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: a Frenchman who moved to England to work as a 455 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 1: valet for the politician John Crawford. We do not know 456 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: how the couple met, but it argued in Paula Burne's Bell, 457 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,600 Speaker 1: The True Story of Dido Bell, that perhaps they were 458 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: introduced through Lord Stormont, former ambassador to France, who kept 459 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: a number of French servants in Kenwood. Their marriage register 460 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: for Saint George's Hanover Square was dated fifth December seventeen 461 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: ninety three, and the couple were married there by license, 462 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: a more expensive practice than getting married by bands. Upper 463 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:38,480 Speaker 1: class couples were often married by license, and this may 464 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: have been seen as a bit of a flex of 465 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 1: Didou's wealth. A year later, she would change her bank 466 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 1: account to bear the name Dido Elizabeth da Vinier, and 467 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: a year after that she gave birth to twin boys, 468 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 1: Charles and John. It appears that John did not survive 469 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:59,320 Speaker 1: past infancy, and the couple had another son in eighteen hundred, 470 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 1: William Thomas, sharing the first name of Dido's uncle. Tax 471 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 1: documents revealed that the family lived in Pimlico, a middle 472 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: class area with properties of the time described as a 473 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 1: neat leasehold house very pleasantly situated, containing two rooms on 474 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: each floor, with convenient offices and a large garden. It 475 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,600 Speaker 1: wasn't Kenwood, but it was home for a Dido and 476 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: the family she built. Dido died in eighteen o four, 477 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: in her early forties. The cause isn't known to us, 478 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 1: but we know she was buried at Saint George's Hanover Square, 479 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 1: where she was married years earlier. For a long time, 480 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,240 Speaker 1: that was the end of Dido's story. Her life and 481 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:49,280 Speaker 1: its remarkable circumstances nearly doomed to be forgotten. In the 482 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies and eighties, a local Camden historian by the 483 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 1: name of Jean Adams began to comb through documents associated 484 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,640 Speaker 1: with Kenwood with the task of piecing together the story 485 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 1: of the women in the portrait at Sconce's Palace. Then 486 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:12,080 Speaker 1: came ama Asante's Bell, the film in twenty thirteen, cementing 487 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: Dido as a Georgian heroine alongside the likes of beloved 488 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: Jane Austen characters. With the release of the film, a 489 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: biography was commissioned the aforementioned Bell, The True Story of 490 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:28,719 Speaker 1: Dido Bell, which provides the most comprehensive knowledge to date 491 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: for historians and artists. Dissecting the brushstrokes of Dido's metaphorical 492 00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: portrait might be a complicated task, but it's a project 493 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 1: that's given the girl in the painting her voice. That's 494 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,800 Speaker 1: the true story of Dido Elizabeth Bell. But keep listening 495 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,360 Speaker 1: after a brief sponsor break to hear we hear a 496 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:12,799 Speaker 1: little bit more about her famous portrait. The Portrait of 497 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:16,880 Speaker 1: Dido Bell and Elizabeth Murray was once attributed to German 498 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: artist Johann Zophany, but today we believe it to be 499 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:24,160 Speaker 1: the work of Scottish artist David Martin. That's not the 500 00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:29,319 Speaker 1: only mystery of the painting. Though it's currently dated seventeen 501 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:33,200 Speaker 1: seventy eight, but fashion historians have reason to believe that 502 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:37,720 Speaker 1: that's around a decade too late. Combining knowledge of both 503 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:42,040 Speaker 1: the trends and age appropriate styles of the decade, historians 504 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:45,640 Speaker 1: estimate our pair of cousins to actually be only around 505 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,360 Speaker 1: ten years old at the time of painting. An article 506 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:54,359 Speaker 1: from the Fashion Institute of Technology details their reasoning. Elizabeth 507 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:58,000 Speaker 1: appears to be wearing a bibbed apron, which were iconic 508 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: signifiers of childhood in as English portraiture. Her hair rounded 509 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: and styled with flowers, was the popular style from around 510 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:11,840 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty three to sixty eight. Remember Hutchinson's comment about 511 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,120 Speaker 1: Dido's curls not being big enough. His visit was in 512 00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:18,920 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine, only a year after the portrait was 513 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:23,040 Speaker 1: actually dated. Yet neither of the girls sport the piles 514 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,480 Speaker 1: of curls that would have been in fashion by then. Dido, 515 00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 1: for her fashion's role in the portrait is in an 516 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,560 Speaker 1: orientalist style costume that we see in portraits from the 517 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:37,319 Speaker 1: seventeen twenties through the seventeen eighties, which could place the 518 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: painting in either timeline. Dido's outfit certainly serves to exoticize 519 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,320 Speaker 1: her in the portrait, but it actually wasn't an uncommon look. 520 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:51,080 Speaker 1: David Martin, in particular, painted many society women in similar 521 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,840 Speaker 1: wrapping gowns and turbans, even down to the posed finger 522 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 1: resting on the cheek. With that analysis, they believe the 523 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:03,240 Speaker 1: painting is more accurate dated in the seventeen sixties, which 524 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:08,400 Speaker 1: might also explain the seemingly childish delight in Dido's pose. 525 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,800 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim 526 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by 527 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,920 Speaker 1: me Danashworts. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, 528 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:38,799 Speaker 1: hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The 529 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: show is produced by rima Il Kayali, with supervising producer 530 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:47,719 Speaker 1: Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and 531 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 532 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:58,239 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.