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‘’Tis Not in the Power of Words to Tell What My Heart Feels in Favour of You’; or, What the Ossulston Diary Does Not Reveal
Author(s) -
Littleton Charles
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
parliamentary history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.14
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1750-0206
pISSN - 0264-2824
DOI - 10.1111/1750-0206.12479
Subject(s) - aristocracy (class) , power (physics) , queen (butterfly) , politics , sociology , law , political science , hymenoptera , physics , botany , quantum mechanics , biology
Abstract Charles Bennet, 2nd Baron Ossulston is largely known through his diary of his daily social encounters, which was first analysed for its political import by Clyve Jones. A further set of documents in the Bennet family papers deepens our understanding of Ossulston's life and his social milieu among the aristocracy under Queen Anne. The love letters sent to him from a Mrs Sarah Sidney throughout 1710 reveal much about life in the aristocratic hothouse of St James's Square. They also show how the ‘ministerial revolution’ of that year was seen by two politically conversant figures at the margins of the royal court. This relationship was long‐lasting and has been a hitherto unknown aspect of Ossulston's life, which may help explain some of his attitudes.