An Original Handwritten Letter Signed by Irish Lady Gertrude Tennant to Lady Maine

UK, 1888. First Edition . Paper. Good. 48mo - over 3 - 4" tall. An Original Handwritten Letter Signed by Irish Lady Gertrude Tennant to Lady Maine. Dated 1888. A long letter to Lady Maine passing her condolences for the death of her husband and praising him of his kindness and England's loss. Gertrude Tennant 1819-1918 was a society hostess in London, the friend and patron of artists and writers. She was educated in France, where she moved in literary circles. In 1842 she met and was attracted to Gustave Flaubert. In 1846 Gertrude returned to Britain, and married Charles Tennant, a wealthy landowner and politician. They had six children incluidng Dorothy (1855-1926), who married the explorer Henry Morton Stanley; and Eveleen (1856-1937), who married the spiritualist and classical scholar Frederic William Henry Myers (1843-1901). After her husband died in 1873, Gertrude became a society hostess, recreating the literary salons she had known in Paris at her home in London at 2 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall. In 1878 she met Flaubert again, and she later helped to edit his correspondence. Size is 150mm x 98mm. Condition is good. Light folding creases. Light gum marks to rear blank edge. More images can be taken upon request. Ref17705