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