The “Pope” of Holland House
John Whishaw to Thomas Smith, 17 July 1819
July 17, 1819.
I have read the greater part of “Don Juan,” which is extremely licentious, but
(very unfortunately as I think) extremely clever. It must be ranked amongst the
first of Lord B.’s productions, and will
be very popular. It is fortunate, certainly, that the obnoxious passage we spoke of
was expunged from a book which must have a very extensive circulation, and may
perhaps remain with posterity. But I am not without apprehension that the
suppressed lines should find a place in some future edition.
One of the most interesting subjects at present is Brougham’s marriage to a Mrs. Spalding, a handsome and rather dashing widow
with three children, a good jointure, and a house in Hill Street. She was formerly
Miss Eden, a niece of the late Lord Auckland, and is sister of the lady of Sir Graham Moore,
the admiral. The extraordinary thing is that the marriage has been kept secret for
some time—according to the most general report, since Easter—without
any apparent reason. All, I believe, that can be considered certain is that the
parties left London together last week, and are now at Brougham Hall. He wrote to
me whilst on the journey, without alluding to the event.
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
Lady Mary Anne Brougham [née Eden] (1785-1865)
The daughter of Thomas Eden; she married (1) the Scottish MP John Spalding (d. 1815) in
1807 and (2) Henry Brougham, first Baron Brougham and Vaux in 1819.
William Eden, first Baron Auckland (1744-1814)
Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, he was an English MP, statesman, diplomat, and author
who was raised to the peerage in 1789.
Dora Moore [née Eden] (1789-1875)
The daughter of Thomas Eden, deputy auditor of Greenwich Hospital; in 1812 she married
Sir Graham Moore.
Sir Graham Moore (1764-1843)
The son of Dr John Moore (1729-1802) and brother of General John Moore (1761-1809); after
a distinguished naval career he was lord of the Admiralty (1816-20) and commander-in-chief
of the Mediterranean Fleet (1820).
George Gordon Byron, sixth Baron Byron (1788-1824)
Don Juan. (London: 1819-1824). A burlesque poem in ottava rima published in installments: Cantos I and II published in
1819, III, IV and V in 1821, VI, VII, and VIII in 1823, IX, X, and XI in 1823, XII, XIII,
and XIV in 1823, and XV and XVI in 1824.
