In his Autobiography (Vol 1) John Galt spends a whole chapter describing how, in 1813, he received a visit from a “the famous Mrs Clarke” who had an interesting proposition for him. Explaining that she had obtained his address from his publisher, Thomas Cadell, she told Galt that she wished him to visit her at her home which Galt says, was either “just off Baker Street or Gloucester Place” in London. She also advised Galt that –
“she was surprised to see me so young a man, and so
dressed, for she understood I was an old Scotch clergyman.”!
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| Mary Anne Clarke |
On the following Sunday, Galt duly visited Mrs Clarke to discover just what she wanted from him.
Mrs Clarke was the famous Mary Anne Clarke, former mistress of Frederick, Duke of York, second son of George III.
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| Frederick Duke of York |
John Galt goes on to describe her -
“She had certainly no pretentions whatever to beauty, though
there was a life and intellectuality in her eyes sparklingly agreeable. She dressed with what I would call much
taste, remarkably neat, plain, and clean; and generally with a bared head. Her hair was almost black. She possessed great powers of conversation,
was often witty, and suddenly surprised you with flashed of shrewdness seldom
seen in woman. Her mind was decidedly
masculine, and she read books of what may be called the male kind. But if was not by knowledge that she made
herself agreeable. On the contrary, her
general conversation had very few literary allusions; her great forte lay in
the discernment of character.”
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| Mary Anne Clarke |
On his visit John Galt soon found out why she had contacted him as she - “had been advised to consult me about a publication of her life.” He decided that he would “use all my address to get possession of her secrets”.
Knowing that Clarke was in need of money, he admits that he “could give her no advice, unless she allowed me to see all her papers. She consented; and laying an armful on the table, left me to peruse them.”
After six hours perusing the material Mary Anne had made available to him, John Galt had decided that they were unfit for publication. Galt explained to Mrs Clarke that -
“the publication she intended was disreputable, and that her best way, as she had too much in her power, was to try if she could get the money she wanted by hook or crook from the Duke of York, for the publication must not go on”.
She and Galt then had an interesting conversation in which
she told him some amusing anecdotes about some of the interesting people she
had been connected with.
Later in 1813, Mary Anne Clarke was tried for libel against William Vesey-FitzGerald who had been instrumental in giving evidence against her with regard to selling army commissions. She was found guilty of libel and imprisoned for nine months. On her release she went to live abroad.
