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There is a new exhibition on Trailblazers: Women travel writers and the exchange of knowledge at Chawton House, looking at women who travelled the world and wrote about their experiences in print. One of these women is Lady Hester Stanhope.

We have loaned two documents concerning Lady Hester Stanhope to the exhibition, which is open from 12 September until 26 February 2023.

Lady Hester Stanhope was born in 1776. She was the niece of William Pitt the Younger and, in 1803, moved in with her uncle and acted as his hostess for three years – first at Walmer Castle and then at 10 Downing Street when Pitt became prime minister.

Pitt died in 1806, but made provisions for Lady Hester, who was granted a £1,200 pension by George III, in recognition of the services rendered by her family (HO 42/84/1).

In 1810, Lady Hester left Britain. She travelled through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Syria. She was the first English woman to enter the Great Pyramid. She was shipwrecked in Rhodes, and started dressing as a man. She conducted excavations in Palestine, and she rode through

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Lady Hester Stanhope: The Unconventional Life of the Queen of the Desert

May 2, 2022

I've been dragging through this dreary biography for what feels like an eternity (rather than quitting) for a few reasons 1) I engaged to read this with several friends here on LT but bought the wrong biography 2) Lady Hester Stanhope was a truly fascinating woman of the Regency era, Pitt's niece, and 3) I'm a completist, darn it all. In brief LHS left England after Pitt died. She had served as his hostess when he was PM and had adored him. She ended up in the Middle East, partly by design, partly by happenstance (like a shipwreck) and never left. There she indulged her eccentricities, as Haslip puts it, and over time besides becoming utterly indigent by generous overspending became more and more isolated in her mountaintop home, Djoun.

I researched a little and the consensus is the Haslip, while dated and while not providing notes or a bibliography, does state the facts and details accurately. However, her theories, judgements and conclusions about the whys and wherefors of LHS's behaviours and

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Great Explorers: Lady Hester Stanhope

Lady Hester Stanhope exchanged a life of a wealthy socialite to forge her own path in the deserts of the Middle East. She pioneered archaeology in the Levant — an old term for Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.

Background

Born into privilege in 1776, Hester Stanhope came from a long line of politicians, prominent military officials, and accomplished scientists. Her father, Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl Stanhope, was not just an important member of the Whigs but also a noted mathematician and inventor. He created the first iron printing press and made improvements on many other tools.

Hester’s great-grandfather was a naval officer and last Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Stanhope (1st Earl). Most famously, Hester was the niece of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. His time in office saw the world-changing years of the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars.

Lady Hester Stanhope in Eastern clothing. Photo: Phrood/Wikipedia Commons

Hester’s upbringing as a high-born lady made h