THIS BOOK

IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF

MY DEAR FATHER

LORD ALFRED SPENCER CHURCHILL

(SECOND SON OF the sixth duke of Marlborough)

WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 21, 1893

INTRODUCTION

FOUR years ago a book, entitled "The Conduct of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, at the Court of Queen Anne," published in 1742, came into my hands, and suggested the following. I have attempted in these pages to throw a side-light on the social history of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, only introducing politics where necessary to understand the sequence of events, or when intimately connected with the life of Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough, she being the central figure of the work. The thought that has encouraged me through many interruptions, disappointments, and my own want of literary experience, has been that another writer, though abler, might have less sympathy for Sarah's character than one of her own descendants. It may be thought that everything that could be said about this remarkable woman has already been written; certainly, there is hardly a book dealing with her times that has not made some allusion to or quoted some anecdote about her. Her life was so full of incident, and her character so complex that, without going deeper into her history than has been done hitherto, it is impossible to realise the force of character, energy, and talents she possessed; nor must her upbringing and surroundings be overlooked. The reader is therefore asked to follow Sarah step by step through the frivolities of Charles II.'s court, the troubled times under James II., the political and social intrigues under William and Mary, until our heroine reaches the proud

position of adviser to the sovereign; only to fall from this pinnacle, partly from her own pride, but more especially through the underhand dealings of a bedchamber woman, placed by herself about Queen Anne. Up to a certain date personal records are scarce, but when Sarah became a power in the land, and after, there is no lack of material to choose from. The duchess has been greatly blamed for her arrogant temper; much has been made of her faults, but few writers have enlarged on her many excellent qualities, her real goodness of heart, or her opinions. To take a true view of character it is necessary to look below the surface, and to know intimately the person whom we judge. "Tout savoir c'est tout pardonner" has been truly said, while a hasty judgment is liable to err. My ambition has been to collect some of Sarah's sayings and doings, to picture the principal social events that happened during her life, and some of the persons with whom she came into contact, and to make the book readable, with what success I must leave others to judge, knowing well myself its many imperfections. Much is recorded that may appear trivial, but what would be so in everyday life need not be considered as such when one recollects that two hundred years have elapsed since the actors in the drama of our history lived their lives.

I am indebted to Mademoiselle Charton for valuable criticisms and encouragement, to Mr. Thomas Perry, F.C.S., for much information regarding the Jennings family, and I have to thank Mr. W. J. Hardy, F.S.A., for kindly introducing me to the Public Record Office, and also for other assistance.

October 1903.

OLIVIA COLVILLE.