The path to high society is the story of Lady Hamilton. The tragedy of the courtesans. Lady Hamilton is the Admiral's angel. See what "Hamilton, Emma" is in other dictionaries

Precious stones themselves do not give off light, but a ray of sunlight accidentally falling on them makes them play with all the colors of the rainbow. There is some kind of secret in precious stones, some hidden rays. A cobblestone will not shine, even if a whole stream of sunlight falls on it. Lady Hamilton was a precious stone with its own secret and its own rays. She came from the darkness, sparkled while the sun shone above her, and with its setting she again plunged into darkness. She did not create her own happiness or her misfortunes. All her life she followed the counselor. Greville, Hamilton, Nelson... When the latter died, Lady Hamilton also left the stage. Information about Lady Hamilton’s childhood is very unclear and reliable. It is more or less established that she was born in one of the remote counties of England, in a small village. Her father was the nobleman Henry Lyon. Henry Lyon did not have tender feelings for his daughter and soon after her birth he abandoned her with her mother. He did not even recognize Emma (the future Lady Hamilton) as his daughter, which is why she never bore his last name. Mother and daughter were united by the most tender love, and throughout her life Emma was almost never separated from her mother, except in cases of extreme necessity. Abandoned by her father, Emma remained in the arms of her mother, a simple peasant woman by birth, but efficient and firm, whose clear mind was never clouded by failures, not blinded by her daughter’s brilliant career. Finding herself alone with the child, Mary Lyon settled near her parents in Howarden and became live by day labor. When Emma was six years old, she began to teach her to work. At first, Emma carried small bags of coal through the streets of Howarden on a donkey and grazed sheep, and at the age of 10 she became a nanny. Emma’s owner, Mistress Thomas, became attached to little Emma and tried in every possible way to develop her mind and abilities. To her chagrin, Mrs. Thomas soon noticed that this task, if not impossible, was very difficult. Emma had neither ability nor diligence. Her favorite pastime was running around the fields with her peers. Despite her noisy, obstinate and lazy character, Mrs. Thomas loved her very much. When Mary Lyon found her daughter a more advantageous place in... London and decided to send her there, Mrs. Thomas and Emma were very upset by the separation, and for a long time there was the most tender correspondence between them.

In London, Emma quickly loses her position as a nanny and is left on the street, left to her own devices in search of a piece of bread. Chasing to earn money, she changes many occupations, but each time she is unsuccessful, and she is overcome by more and more despair. Finally, she gets a job as a saleswoman in a jewelry store. Among the clients of this store was a certain Arabella Kelly, a lady of dubious reputation. Arabella drew attention to the pretty Emma, ​​and soon the latter became her companion. Here she meets her fellow countryman, a sailor from Howarden. He gets into an unpleasant situation, and she turns to his boss, who can help him out. He agrees, but at the cost of her innocence. After some hesitation, Emma agrees. This was her first relationship.

Soon she felt pregnant. Long before the birth of the child, her lover left her. In final despair, Emma turns to her mother. She arrives and takes away her daughter from Emma, ​​who is also named Emma after her mother.

No matter how sad this event was, it made Emma realize that she was beautiful.

Soon after her illness, she takes part in Dr. Graham's sessions.

Dr. Graham was a charlatan magnetizer who was then in great fashion in London. He was very educated and studied magnetism in Paris with Mesmer. Returning to London, he gave fascinating lectures on eternal youth, sold talismans and medicines. Emma posed for him under the guise of Hebe-Vestina, the goddess of beauty and health. Lying naked on the so-called “heavenly bed,” she was supposed to reawaken the dried-up love energy in the audience. Here her vanity could be completely satisfied. All London society worshiped the beauty of her body. Here the artists Reynolds and Gainsborough first saw and appreciated it, and Romney was forever captivated by its beauty.

From here she moves, as a model, to Romney's workshop, where he paints Circe from her and admires her talent for mimicry. Inspired by him, she thinks of going on stage. But Sheridan, after listening to her recitation, says that she is not fit for the stage.

From Romney's workshop she goes to be supported by baronet Sir Harry Featherston, lives with him for 6 months the life of a first-class lady of the demimonde, spending crazy money on pleasures and outfits, and abandoned by him returns to Howarden.

She was in London for only 2 years. She left Howarden as an inexperienced child, and returned there as a woman who had experienced a lot and seen a lot. In such a small place as Howarden, Emma's arrival was an event that everyone talked about everywhere. Even earlier, her child, brought by her mother, was the subject of speculation. Now she herself, with the few outfits that had survived from her, was met with universal condemnation. Everywhere she was made aware of the ambiguity of her position, and the doors of the virtuous inhabitants of Howarden were closed against her. In desperation, she writes 7 letters, one after another, to Sir Harry, but there is no answer. Then she addresses a pleading letter to Sir Charles Greville, whom she met in Lately of his stay in London. Greville had already helped her once, giving her some money for the trip to Howarden, and she hoped that he would help her out here too. Greville liked her, but, as a reasonable person, he was afraid to show his feelings and thereby tie himself in advance. In response to her requests for help, he writes to her coldly and judiciously. He invites her to London under the condition that she abandon all her previous acquaintances and leave the child in Howarden, and allows her to maintain relations only with her mother.

Greville needed a submissive and modest mistress who did not require large expenses, which he did not want and could not do.

Having received Greville's letter, Emma immediately moves to London. Here Greville once again has a dry conversation with her about his conditions. Emma at that moment saw in Greville the only hope and salvation. She not only agreed to all his conditions, but was also grateful for them.

Now Emma settles on the outskirts of the city, in a modest house, which Greville, a subtle connoisseur of art, managed to arrange with great taste. Emma was supposed to live here quietly and alone, learning spelling, literature, singing and music. Greville's mother took charge of the household, Mrs. Kidd, as she now called herself. Emma had not been anywhere, and except for a few acquaintances of Greville, serious and prim gentlemen, no one appeared in her house.

Despite this, Emma felt endless gratitude to Greville for her modest but calm life. It seemed that nothing could disturb the serenity and silence that surrounded Emma. She never made any attempt to disobey and her rebellious soul, apparently, was forever pacified. Only once, when Greville took her to one ceremonial holiday, Emma, ​​finding herself among the noise, music, glitter and illumination, became infected with the general mood and suddenly, jumping onto a chair, began to sing in her pleasant, ringing voice.

The crowd at first protested against such a sudden appearance, then, captivated by her amazing appearance, they burst into a storm of applause. Emma, ​​intoxicated with success, sang more and more loudly, more and more beautifully. This joy almost cost her a break with Greville, who was outraged by her outburst, and Emma had to shed many tears to beg his forgiveness.

After that, she again became unassuming and submissive. Her only entertainment was visiting Romney's workshop twice a week. The artist was still faithful to her, she was still his favorite model, and he painted her endlessly. Twenty-four completed portraits and an endless number of sketches, sketches... Nothing ever overshadowed them good relations. She was his “inspiration,” as he called her; she called him her “father.” A carriage took her to and from the workshop; she rarely appeared on the street alone, and in most cases she was accompanied by her mother.

Greville's uncle, the English envoy to Naples, Lord Hamilton, returned to London. He was an athlete, a cheerful and intelligent conversationalist, a dancer, a singer, a violinist and an archaeologist.

Having appeared at Greville's and meeting Emma, ​​Hamilton was struck by her beauty and after some time decided, with Greville's permission, to give her some information on art. He soon became absorbed in his teaching role; lessons become more and more frequent, and the house on Edgware Row becomes his favorite abode.

As for Greville, he was very pleased with the attention his uncle showed Emma. In this he foresaw a convenient way out. Greville’s money, despite his frugal lifestyle, was running out, and he was already thinking about how he could simply and easily part with Emma and improve his affairs with a profitable marriage. How Emma would react to this was of no concern to him.

To begin with, Greville convinces Emma to leave London for the summer. Emma, ​​unaware that this is the end, travels with her mother to Chester. On the way, she stops at Howarden and takes her daughter with her from there.

From Chester she writes letters to Greville full of love, humility and tenderness.

“How impatiently I sit down to write while waiting for the postman. I'll probably receive a letter today. Could you, my dear Greville - no, it’s impossible, forget your poor Emma... I constantly think about you and get to the point where it seems to me that I hear and see you. Think, Greville, what a self-deception it is when I am so abandoned and there is no news of you... Have you forgotten, as you told me when you left, that you would be so happy to see me again... Oh, Greville, think about the number of days, weeks and years, which we may still have. One line from you will make me happy..."

Uncle and nephew acted together, hiding the truth from Emma. Having barely returned to Greville, Emma receives an invitation from Lord Hamilton to come and visit him in Naples. Anticipating some new events unknown to her, Emma hesitates to accept this flattering invitation, but at Greville’s insistence she accepts.

Emma comes to Naples with her mother. Lord Hamilton met and surrounded them with such attention as if they were ladies from the highest English aristocracy.

“You cannot imagine,” Emma writes to Greville, “how kind Sir William is to me. He does everything he can to make me happy. He never eats out. In truth, since my arrival he has left me no more often than my shadow. He has breakfast, lunch and dinner with me, he always sits next to me, looking at me, I can’t move my hand, side, or leg without him immediately noticing how graceful and beautiful, in his opinion, my movements are. Really, I’m angry that I can’t make him happy. I can only be polite and accommodating. And really, I'm as nice to him as I can be. But I'm yours, Greville. I can belong to you alone, and no one will take your place in my heart.”

From Emma's letters, Greville saw that if he did not act decisively, Emma would reappear in London. And since this was highly undesirable for him, he writes her a letter where, with extraordinary cynicism, he advises her to become Lord Hamilton’s mistress, and for his part offers her friendship and companionship.

Emma, ​​who loved him, was deeply outraged by this cynical advice. Her answer is full of indignation, but at the same time it is a last desperate attempt to bring Greville back to her.

“...It is you who advise me... Nothing can express my despair. I'm just going crazy. You, Greville, give me this advice. You, who were usually jealous of me for one smile. With what cold indifference you advise me to go to... Sir William. Oh, this is the worst. If I were near you, I would kill you and myself..."

And at the end of this letter in a postscript she writes:

“...You do not know my power here. But I will never become a mistress. If you push me to the extreme, I will marry him to myself.”

That's right, Greville smiled when he read this threat. But Emma at this time was no longer her former timid and submissive lover, whom he locked into the narrow confines of bourgeois life. Ambitious dreams were already swarming in her soul.

And so, having experienced many moments of despair and wounded pride, having changed her mind about all methods of revenge, Emma decides to fulfill her last threat - to marry Lord Hamilton. In the autumn of 1786, she left her apartment and, to the great joy of Lord Hamilton, settled in the embassy palace. It was then that Goethe saw her and admired her.

“Lord Hamilton, who is still here as English Minister, after a long study of art and many years of observation of nature, found a perfect union of nature and art in one beautiful young girl. He took her to him. This is an Englishwoman of about twenty. She is very beautiful and very well built. He made her a Greek costume that suits her amazingly. With her hair down, taking two shawls, she changes her poses, gestures, and expressions so much that in the end you think it’s just a dream. What thousands of artists would be happy to achieve is here seen embodied in movement, with breathtaking variety. Kneeling, standing, sitting, lying down, serious, sad, playful, enthusiastic, repentant, captivating, threatening, anxious... One expression follows another and flows from it. She knows how to give folds to a dress for every movement and change them, and make a hundred different headdresses from the same fabric.” This is how Goethe described Emma.

Countess de Boigne says about her in her memoirs:

“Others tried to imitate this woman's talent; I don't think they succeeded. This is a thing that is only one step away from being funny. Besides, to have her success, you must first of all be impeccably beautiful from head to toe, and you rarely meet such people.”

Less than a year has passed before Emma is finally accepted into Neapolitan society. She behaves so skillfully and tactfully that the King of Naples says: “The Neapolitan ladies would do well if they followed her example.”

Emma's threat soon became a fact. On September 6, 1791, she marries Lord Hamilton in London. On the wedding day, she stopped by Romney's workshop for the last time. During this visit, he painted her portrait, which he later called “Messenger”. Emma sadly left her old friend. For Romney, the separation was even more difficult; the one with whom his art was so closely connected was leaving him forever. With Emma's departure, the last ray of sun that illuminated his old age leaves Romney's life.

How dear Emma was to Romney can be seen from his letter to one friend:

“Cassandra (Emma) returned to town on the 16th, but I didn’t see her until the 20th. You can imagine what I suffered. She decided to pose on the 23rd and since then she has been posing all the days... When she appeared in my studio, she seemed more gentle to me than the last time... Now it seems to me that she is more cordial to me than ever. She regrets that she is leaving England without seeing you. I am extremely grateful to you for your sympathy. Indeed, my soul suffered so much that it affected my health, and I was afraid that I would not be able to write from her anymore, but since she has continued to be kind to me, I have completely recovered in body and spirit...” 6 September Emma saw Romney for the last time. They never met again.

The day after the wedding, Lord and Lady Hamilton left for Naples. On the way they stopped in Paris, planning to stay there for a while. But the approaching threat of revolution forced them to soon leave him. They managed, however, to enter the palace, and Marie Antoinette, already under strict supervision, secretly handed Emma a letter to her sister, the Neapolitan Queen Maria Carolina. For Emma this letter was a big joy. It opened the doors of the Neapolitan Palace to her.

Upon arrival in Naples, she gives the letter to Maria Carolina, and from that day their friendship begins

At this happy time of her life, Emma is faithful to her past. Her mother is always with her, and she writes tender letters to Greville and Romney.

“Indeed,” she writes to Greville, “if we stay here, it will only be because I promised the queen not to leave her before her departure.” And then she says, “I spent the evening with the queen alone, laughing, singing, etc. But during the reception I stayed in my place and showed the Queen such respect as if I had seen her for the first time. She liked it very much." At the end, Emma talks about her personal life. "You can't imagine how happy dear Sir William is. Right, you You can’t understand our happiness, it’s indescribable, we don’t separate for an hour all day. We live like lovers, and not like husband and wife, especially if you think about how modern spouses treat each other..”

During this period of Lady Hamilton's life, Horatio Nelson appears on her horizon, small man with clear, open eyes and a powerful, all-conquering voice. Two passions possessed this man - hatred of France and boundless love for his homeland.

From Nelson's first appearance in Naples, friendly relations were established between Emma and him; they were united by a patriotic feeling

Emma at that time was no longer only Maria Carolina's friend, she was the confidant of all her affairs and her closest confidante. From the very beginning of the Great French Revolution English influence was very strong at the Neapolitan palace. When the formidable shadow of Bonaparte appeared on the horizon, Naples could only expect salvation from him from England.

And so Emma became a mediator between Naples and England. At first she seemed frightened by this, but soon, encouraged by Queen Maria Carolina, she brilliantly assumed her role. She transmits secret letters, writes them together with the queen.

“I did not have time to write to you, since for three days and three nights we wrote important letters that we sent today by courier to our government,” she writes to Greville. Horatio Nelson was sent by England to defend Naples from Bonaparte.

From this time on, Emma's fate is forever intertwined with Nelson's. Before this meeting, Emma had no free choice. Necessity forced her to go to Greville, ambition to Lord Hamilton, and love to Horatio Nelson. On Nelson's part it was also a real, great feeling.

Victory at Abukir, and all of Naples comes to life, from complete despondency it moves to the most stormy joy. All the delight belongs to Nelson, and Naples greets him like a triumphant. Emma's heart must have been beating strongly when she saw him surrounded by such an aura of glory.

The last campaign has undermined Nelson's health, and he gladly accepts Lady Hamilton's invitation to go on vacation to Castel Mare.

“I live in their house, and only the careful care with which I am surrounded could restore my sad health,” Nelson writes to his wife.

Some time later Nelson was tasked with occupying Malta. But the victory this time was not his, and he returned to Italy, where the French threatened Naples. The Royal Family had to flee, and Naples was occupied by French troops. The Hamiltons and Nelson developed an escape plan down to the smallest detail. Events followed one after another with extraordinary speed. Emma, ​​a poor nanny twenty years ago, holds the fate of the royal family in her hands, and only her energy and determination owe her salvation. In the midst of general panic, Lady Hamilton is the only one who maintains her presence of mind and encourages others. Soon Nelson took advantage of the favorable moment, and Naples again fell into the hands of the British.

The royal family could return to Naples, but they were afraid of this, and the Hamiltons and crown prince. It seemed that all royal power was now in the hands not of Maria Caroline, but of Emma Hamilton.

There is a lively correspondence between her and Maria Caroline, in which the latter dictates her orders, explicit and intimate, and Emma precisely carries them out. In her letters, Emma gives the queen an exact answer about all the events in Naples.

But extensive correspondence with the queen does not consume all of Emma's time. On behalf of the queen, she frees prisoners and distributes money to those in need. In October 1799, the English fleet sailed to Palermo and Lady Hamilton with it. Maria Caroline is waiting for her here. Nelson is again greeted as a triumphant, and Emma shares the glory with him. Maria Caroline showers her with gifts.

Frequent cruising forced Nelson to leave Naples more than once. In his absence, he transfers his power to Emma. On one of these occasions she received a deputation from the island of Malta. She found a way to satisfy their request, for which she was given a rare honor for a woman. The Grand Master of the Order of Malta, the Russian Emperor Paul I, sent her a Maltese cross along with a handwritten letter.

An unexpected unpleasant event changed happy life Emma. Lord Hamilton was summoned to London, and another was appointed to the post of envoy to Naples. It was hard for Emma to leave the country where she saw herself at the height of fame, and go to London, to the same London that did not accept her in all the splendor of her twenty-year-old beauty. What could she expect from him now, at the end of her youth? Meanwhile, Nelson could no longer completely live without her. Citing poor health, he temporarily refuses active service and follows her.

Maria Caroline accompanied them to Vienna.

Already in Vienna, Emma, ​​intoxicated by her success and accustomed to worship, had to face a strict and even unfriendly attitude. In London she was received coldly.

In 1801, Lady Hamilton's daughter Horatia was born. Her birth was a mystery, and she was presented to Lord Hamilton as an orphan whom Emma would like to adopt. Lord Hamilton never knew that this was the daughter of Emma and Nelson.

In general, Lord Hamilton’s behavior in this whole romantic story was strange. An intelligent and perceptive man, he could not help but see what everyone saw. But all the time, right up to his death, he was a tender friend of Nelson, and his attitude towards Emma was the same as before. The truth of his behavior went with him to the grave.

All documents relating to the child were destroyed, and only thanks to Nelson's letters to Emma, ​​which the latter did not dare to destroy, we know who Horatia's parents were.

“You know, my dear Emma, ​​that I would give everything in the world to be with you and our dear little daughter,” Nelson writes to Emma.

Horatia herself did not know who her mother was. All she knew was that she was Nelson's daughter and "a personage too high for her name to be revealed." That's what Emma told her, and she couldn't find out anything else for the rest of her life.

Less than a month after the birth of her daughter, Emma was forced to start a social life. Lord Hamilton considered it his duty to have his own salon. Emma's salon was a success. Even the Prince of Wales expressed a desire to dine with them and listen to Lady Hamilton sing. But this news aroused Nelson's discontent and jealousy, and Emma cleverly avoided this opportunity, not wanting to upset her lover. Of course, the triumph that once surrounded Emma was no longer there, and the years took their toll. Having gained a lot of weight, Emma has already lost her former impeccable beauty. But she was still beautiful enough to captivate, and her turbulent past surrounded her with an aura of intense interest.

At the end of 1801, Nelson instructs Emma to buy an estate for him so that he can live there with her. Emma happily fulfills this order and buys the Merton estate in the outskirts of London. Everything you need is here. Not very large, but a comfortable house for Lord Hamilton, whose favorite sport used to be fishing, the river was abundant with fish.

In Merton, Emma experienced the happiest years of her love for Nelson. Her husband and Nelson were on the best terms. Having settled in Merton, they seemed to wish and thought that it would be forever. But Emma soon became bored with the noisy social life. One after another, guests, Nelson's relatives and friends, Maria Caroline's son Luitpold and others began to appear in Merton.

In early July 1802, Nelson and the Hamiltons took a short trip. This time they were not three of them, as they were traveling from Italy, and were generally everywhere, but four of them. The fourth is Greville. It seemed that Emma was interested in defying public opinion, carrying her husband and two lovers with her.

In April 1803, Lord Hamilton died in the arms of Emma and Nelson, who did not leave his head. The loss of a loved one, to whom alone, in essence, she owed her position, was aggravated even more by the fact that Lord Hamilton's fortune passed to Greville, and to her only things and a small lump sum. Lord Hamilton probably would have left her more, but he hoped until the last minute that the government would give him, and then her, the pension he had long asked for.

Two weeks after the funeral, Greville asked Emma to clear out their hotel in London and find another apartment. In general, here he finally manifested himself in his true form. Emma's former lover, he behaved like her worst enemy. Outraged by his behavior, Nelson gives Emma Merton and gives her a monthly annuity. For anyone else, what Emma had would be quite sufficient, but for Emma, ​​spoiled by her life, it is almost a need. All her numerous requests addressed to the government and her former friends to give her a pension after Lord Hamilton lead to nothing on October 21, 1805, the memorable day of Trafalgar. Before the battle, Nelson adds a paragraph to his will, in which he addresses the government: “The only favor that I ask from my Sovereign and from my homeland, he writes, is concern for the fate of Lady Hamilton and little Horatia.”

This fight was Nelson's last. England was saved, but Nelson was killed.

This was the end for Emma. After Nelson's death, his wife and relatives were generously supported by the government. But Emma and Horatia, for whom Nelson alone asked his homeland, were completely forgotten. It was as if they wanted to completely erase Emma from Nelson’s life, like a stain on of blessed memory hero.

With Nelson's death, Emma's life turned into a complete ordeal. Under Nelson there were hopes, there was life, now it was poverty, already real, and the complete contempt of others.

In 1811, her mother died, who had always been with her and managed to earn the respect of everyone who had ever surrounded Emma.

Emma goes to prison for debt. Freed from there, she soon sees herself in danger of being arrested a second time for new non-payments and flees from her creditors to France. But there is no silver lining here either. Ten years after Nelson's death, Lady Hamilton is still trying to overcome her fate, and only after living through them does she see that her efforts are useless. She ended the same way she started - in complete poverty. In January 1815, she fell ill with bronchitis, which turned into pneumonia.

Lady Hamilton was dying in a cold room with bare walls. Two portraits hung above the bed - her mother and Nelson, with Horatia sobbing next to her

On the evening of January 15, Emma died. She was buried at the expense of her relative on her mother's side, Henry Cadagan, a man with whom she never had anything in common during her lifetime

Emma Lyon was born into the family of blacksmith Henry Lyon in the village of Nessie, Cheshire, on April 28, 1765. At baptism she was given the name Aimee, however, more often her family called her Emlie.
The girl was a true angel: pretty, cheerful and kind. And very hardworking, but how could it be otherwise, because the family was poor. Little Emly, mincing on her bare feet next to a dejected donkey, was delivering coal for sale.
In London, where the girl moved with her mother, she also did not have to sit idle: Emlie worked as a nanny, a servant, whatever she had to do.
By the age of 14, the dirty little girl had turned into a beautiful beauty, and this metamorphosis did not go unnoticed.
The only thing that prevented the girl from being on the panel was her extraordinary beauty and decisive character. Beauty helped Emly find a permanent income, albeit of a somewhat dubious nature: she was hired to work, no less, as a goddess. In a strange institution called the "Temple of Health" at the charlatan doctor Graham in Emley, she performed the role of the goddess Hebe-Vestina in front of health-hungry "parishioners." And the male part of the audience (and there were no women there) was thrilled with delight, watching how young " goddess", having shed almost all her veils, or all of them, for a fee, takes ancient poses.

Caricature of Emma Hamilton as an artists" model, with reference to her famous "Attitudes" (poses in imitation of classical antiquity).

The earliest portrait of Emma Lyon, the future lady, as the goddess of health.

It was there that Emly met a young squire named Harry Featherston, a handsome man and bon vivant. Calling a spade a spade, we can say that she simply became his kept woman - a typical path of young goddesses. . Emly was a girl of... free morals, so when she announced that she was pregnant, her boyfriend strongly doubted that the child was his and threw the poor thing into the street. all men are bastards!
But Emly was not only a beautiful girl, but also not stupid, and she quickly remembered that one of Featherston’s friends, Charles Greville, had hinted many times that he would not mind taking the beauty for himself. Well! His time has come.

Who could have imagined that Em'ly would fall in love with Greville? Love made her forget about coquetry, nightlife and hectic life. Sitting peacefully at home and waiting for the arrival of her priceless Charles, she tries her best to become a real lady. The common folk “Emly” is replaced by the euphonious “Emma,” and Emma works to correct her pronunciation, takes music and singing lessons, studies etiquette in order to adequately receive Greville’s guests, in a word, she did everything to be worthy of her beloved.

Meanwhile, my beloved, all men are bastards! He firmly decided to get rid of his girlfriend, because he had little money, he wanted to live widely, and a rich heiress appeared on the horizon, to whom he wooed.
But, as a noble man, he arranged the happiness of his annoying mistress - he handed her over to his uncle, Lord Hamilton, the English envoy in Naples. It's funny, but Greville wrote a letter to his uncle strongly advising him to take Emma. “At your age, a neat and helpful woman is not a superfluous acquisition,” the nephew seduced his uncle. Sir William hesitated, but the temptation was stronger. “You can be sure,” he wrote in response, “I will do everything to console Emma in her loss, but I foresee that I will often have to dry the tears on her lovely face.” Emma arrived in Naples in the spring of 1786. Oh, of course, just to stay, as Greville assured...
I’m afraid to even imagine what the unfortunate woman was going through when she realized that she had been abandoned, that she had been given to another man.

Lady Hamilton as Circe
George Romney 1782

But Emma’s willpower, wounded pride and decisive character contributed to her making a firm decision: she would no longer be a kept woman. She will be the wife. “I will never become Sir William’s mistress,” she writes in one last letters Greville. “And if you give me such an insult, I warn you, I will do everything to force him to marry me.” The threat is all the more terrible for a man like Charles because it was he who had to (in the event that Lord Hamilton had no children ) receive a huge inheritance from his uncle.
Lord Hamilton was delighted with Emma. He spared no expense so that she could take singing lessons, dress up, organize receptions, and shine. Of course, next to him was a goddess, “one of the most beautiful women of her time,” according to the English artist George Romney. All of Naples was at Emma's feet.

True, envious people said that her beauty was simple and somewhat heavy, but, judging by the portraits, the tall beauty with her huge blue eyes and luxurious brown hair was irresistible.
And Lord Hamilton was happy to lead “his fairy” to the crown, even though this misalliance caused a storm in society. The wedding took place in September 1791. The groom was sixty-one years old, the bride twenty-six, but what a difference it made! Emma sincerely, humanly, fell in love with the old gentleman, who treated her with amazing kindness.

So Elmy Lyon became Lady Hamilton. Incredible takeoff! But... the wedding was scandalous, society did not accept the newly-made lady, and the king expressed his displeasure to the newlywed. The Queen refused to give Lady Hamilton an audience, thus ending Emma's hopes of entering high society.

But the girl who grew up in the London slums was not the type to give up. Just think, an obstacle, the Queen of England! She's the only queen in the world!
The decision was simple and effective: Lord Hamilton and his wife went to France, and quickly, very quickly, before the scandalous story of their marriage became the talk of the town.
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, of course, received the English ambassador in Naples and, moreover, conveyed letters from Lady Hamilton to her sister, Queen Maria Caroline of Naples.
That's it, the path to the royal court of Naples is open! And, I must say, Emma conquered the court and the queen. It was impossible to resist her extraordinary beauty, liveliness, and charm. This is the portrait of Lady Hamilton left by Alexandre Dumas on the pages of the novel “San Felice”:
“She had reached—or at least so it seemed—that age when a woman enters into the full flowering of her life. To the gaze of anyone who looked closely at her, her infinite charm was revealed more and more with every moment.

Her face, tender, like that of a not yet fully matured girl, was framed by strands of dark brown hair; radiant eyes, the shade of which did not give in precise definition, shone from under the eyebrows, as if drawn with the brush of Raphael; the neck was snow-white and flexible, like a swan’s; the shoulders and arms, with their roundness and tenderness, their enchanting plasticity, were reminiscent not of cold statues emerging from under an antique chisel, but of the delightful, trembling creations of Germain Pilon, and were not inferior to the ancient ones in their completeness and in the grace of their blue veins; her mouth was like that of a fairy goddaughter, that princess who dropped a pearl with every word, and a diamond with every smile; these lips seemed like a casket containing countless kisses. In contrast to the magnificent outfit of Maria Carolina, she wore a simple cashmere chiton, white and long, with wide sleeves and a semicircular neckline at the top - like a Greek one, at the waist it was folded with a red morocco belt, woven with gold threads and decorated with rubies, opals and turquoise; The belt was fastened with a magnificent cameo of Sir William Hamilton. A wide Indian shawl of iridescent shades with gold embroidery was thrown over the chiton; At intimate evenings with the queen, this cape served Emma more than once when performing the “shawl dance” she invented, in which she achieved such magical perfection and such bliss that no skilled dancer could compare with her.

Yes, Emma drove everyone crazy who saw her “shawl dance.” She knew how to handle anything, let alone various draperies, as a result of her work as the goddess of health, Hebe-Vestina. Then Emly seduced all visitors to the Temple of Health with her lightly draped nudity, and learned to handle shawls and draperies very well!
It was precisely the memories of the “goddess” work that were probably inspired by that amazing performance in which Lady Hamilton had no equal - poses. Using shawls, Emma created images of ancient goddesses and heroines. She froze in one position or another for several minutes, allowing the audience to admire her, and, with a slight movement, changing the folds of the drapery, she assumed a new pose, equally expressive and beautiful.

Lady Hamilton as Mary Magdalene

Attitudes of Lady Hamilton

Countess de Boigne says about her in her memoirs:
“Others tried to imitate this woman's talent; I don't think they succeeded. This is a thing that is only one step away from being funny. Besides, to have her success, you must first of all be impeccably beautiful from head to toe, and you rarely meet such people.”

Emma as Cassandra

Emma as St. Cecilia

Life seemed amazing to Emma! She writes to Grenville, who, despite his betrayal, remains her constant correspondent: “Indeed, if we stay here, it will be only because I promised the queen not to leave her until her departure.” And then she says, “I spent the evening with the queen alone, laughed, sang, etc. But during the reception, I stayed in my place and showed the queen such respect as if I had seen her for the first time. She liked it very much.” At the end, Emma talks about her personal life, “You can’t imagine how happy dear Sir William is. Really, you cannot understand our happiness, it is indescribable, we are not separated for an hour all day We live like lovers, and not like husband and wife, especially if you think about how we treat modern spouses to each other.. "

Lord and Lady Hamilton

As for the child, whose fate my readers were concerned about, Emma did not suffer from an excess of maternal feelings. The girl, who was also named Emma, ​​lived with her grandmother, and Emma Sr. sent them money. They only met a few times.

So, Lady Hamilton is beautiful, incomparable, magnificent! This is what the admiring Goethe wrote about her:
“Lord Hamilton, who is still here as English Minister, after a long study of art and many years of observation of nature, found a perfect union of nature and art in one beautiful young girl. He took her to him. This is an Englishwoman of about twenty. She is very beautiful and very well built. He made her a Greek costume that suits her amazingly. With her hair down, taking two shawls, she changes her poses, gestures, and expressions so much that in the end you think it’s just a dream. What thousands of artists would be happy to achieve is here seen embodied in movement, with breathtaking variety. Kneeling, standing, sitting, lying down, serious, sad, playful, enthusiastic, repentant, captivating, threatening, anxious... One expression follows another and flows from it. She knows how to give folds to a dress for every movement and change them, and make a hundred different headdresses from the same fabric.”

But Emma is also a singer! Her voice of rare beauty, which, thanks to Lord Hamilton’s money, was worked on by the best teachers, was highly appreciated even by the singers of the Neapolitan opera, the king himself came to the English ambassador to enjoy Emma’s singing.

Emma became so close to the queen that she sometimes spent entire days talking about the palace. This unexpected closeness, however, gave rise to rumors about...the peculiar relationships of the ladies. There were even cartoons like this one.

"Love"-à-la-mode, or Two dear friends", an early 19th-century caricature by James Gillray, reportedly depicting a scandalous rumor told about Emma, ​​Lady Hamilton (Nelson's mistress), and Queen Maria Carolina of Naples (presumably the woman on the left, who seems to be wearing some kind of coronet or crown beneath the feathers in her headdress). Emma has taken off her bonnet and put it on the bench. Two men spy out the situation in some distaste, from behind the bushes.Text in image: One lady to the other "Little does he imagine that he has a female rival" Gentleman in nautical uniform (Nelson?) "What is to be done to put a stop to this disgraceful Business?" Other gentleman "Take her from Warwick"(??)

The delightful Lady Hamilton, surrounded by admirers who praised her beauty and talents, was, oddly enough, faithful to her husband. No one could boast of her special attention, even the king was among the rejected admirers.
Her life would probably have been like this: easy, full of pleasure and worship of others, if one day they had not appeared on the horizon Scarlet Sails English ships. They were brought to Naples by the famous Horatio Nelson. The one-eyed hero without one arm won Emma's heart. I would like to understand what was in this short, not very healthy man, an invalid, that drove the beautiful Lady Hamilton crazy.
The Neapolitans expected salvation from Bonaparte only from England, so Nelson was greeted as a hero. By this time, the closeness of Emma and Queen Mary Caroline was already such that Lady Hamilton was entrusted with the most important mission of mediation between the two countries. Emma handled it brilliantly. She transmits secret letters, writes them together with the queen.
“I did not have time to write to you, since for three days and three nights we wrote important letters that we sent today by courier to our government,” she writes to Greville.
Business, business, but not only because of business, Emma has no time to write.
Nearby is Nelson, the winner, the hero. Victory at Abukir, and all of Naples comes to life, from complete despondency it moves to the most stormy joy. All the delight belongs to Nelson, and Naples greets him like a triumphant. Emma's heart must have been beating strongly when she saw him surrounded by such an aura of glory.
The last campaign has undermined Nelson's health, and he gladly accepts Lady Hamilton's invitation to go on vacation to Castel Mare. It was the happiest time in Emma's life. Everything had already been said between her and Nelson, and they could spend all their days together. Lady Hamilton took charge of the rear admiral's health. Nelson lay in a room on the second floor, from the wide windows of which a majestic and beautiful view opened up. The bay was in full view. Vesuvius towered in the distance. Emma fed the patient broth, gave him donkey milk, read to him aloud, and changed his bandages. For the first time in his life, Nelson felt such tenderness towards himself, touching care Lord Hamilton, an old, sick man who dearly loved Emma, ​​did not prevent this. He seemed resigned to the loss of his wife's love, but he believed in the affection and respect that Lady Hamilton had always felt for him. We must give her credit, Emma always, until the death of the old lord, tenderly cared for him.

Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, in a White Turban
George Romney, circa 1791

Horatio Nelson became the center of the universe for Emma, ​​for him she was ready for any madness. He also idolized her, but, alas... The admiral was married, and there was no hope of divorce. His wife didn’t want to hear about it. She was quite satisfied with the position of the wife of the famous admiral, and she did not intend to change anything in her life. Passionate and loving Emma understood that she could never become Mrs. Nelson, because this name belongs to someone else.
Meanwhile, political events developed in the most unfavorable way. Fortune turned against the British, and the French were rapidly approaching Naples. The royal family was forced to flee the city. Oh, into this hard times Lady Hamilton showed miracles of courage and enterprise. She developed an escape plan, she led a trembling queen and an equally trembling king through an underground tunnel, carrying the prince in her arms - Emma was strong and strong woman. Lady Hamilton remained calm and courageous amid the general panic. She helped the king, queen and members of their family load into the boats - and onto the English ship, under the protection of friendly bayonets. The family of the Neapolitan monarchs was saved.

Lady Hamilton as Ambassadress
Engraved by Thomas G Appleton after a picture by George Romney.


Fortune is changeable - and now the British are once again becoming the masters of Naples. The royal couple, however, do not dare to return, but the English ambassador and his wife return immediately. It couldn’t be otherwise - after all, Nelson is in Naples, Emma should be next to him, not a minute of delay!

Love makes beautiful in her eyes a person whose appearance seemed unattractive to many of his contemporaries. The portraits embellished the original. Nelson was short and thin; When he smiled or spoke, one could notice that he had bad teeth. Nelson is a 'small, twisted figure... with restless movements and a shrill voice.' The motionless, cloudy, dead right eye and the empty right sleeve, bent and fastened under the chest, made a painful impression on those who saw him for the first time. But for Emma he was more beautiful than all the kings of the world. Nelson writes her the most tender letters: “‘In all respects,’ he wrote to Emma, ​​‘from your role as the ambassador’s wife to the performance of your duties household, I have never met a woman equal to you. This elegance, this perfection, and, above all, the kindness of the heart - are incomparable." However, Emma has changed too. She was no longer the young beauty before whom the peasants fell on their knees, mistaking her for the Virgin Mary. Tall, Emma, ​​having become very plump, became very big woman, next to whom the short admiral looked like a small man. But why did they care what they looked like from the outside? They were together and they were completely happy.

This is how the English cartoonist saw Emma

And such an artist



But it’s not only love that fills Lady Hamilton’s life during these months. She practically replaces Queen Maria Carolina. Emma does everything. what her royal friend asks for in letters, she endlessly writes reports and reports not only to Maria Caroline, but also to the Admiralty and English ministers. The fact is that her husband, Lord Hamilton, although he holds the post of ambassador, is not at all interested in politics and other nonsense. Art is the only thing that arouses his interest. His collections are unique, and the lord spares no time and money to replenish them.
Emma, ​​on behalf of the queen, administers justice, frees prisoners, rewards, and dictates decrees. Her energy seems inexhaustible. In place of the absent Nelson, Lady Hamilton receives the Maltese delegation, listens to and grants their requests. In gratitude, Emperor Paul I, Grand Master of the Order of Malta, sent her a Maltese cross along with a handwritten letter.

Maria Caroline showers her with gifts and calls her her sister in letters. Horatio's beloved is nearby - happiness and luck, it seemed, would never turn away from her.
Lady Hamilton reigned in Naples next to her hero.

But all good things come to an end. Emma's cloudless life in Naples also ended. Lord Hamilton, now very old, was recalled from Naples to London.

Clouds were also gathering over Nelson. The rear admiral was not liked at the top, and the Admiralty was also dissatisfied. Rumors about the relationship between Nelson and Emma Hamilton reached London and his wife. Lady Nelson hinted that she wanted to come to her husband in Italy, but Nelson replied briefly that she should remain where she was.
Nelson's position seemed funny to some, ambiguous to others. Lord Hamilton's position is worthy of surprise and ridicule. Emma's situation is scandalous and outrageous.

George Romney.
Emily Hart as Miranda, 1785-1786

But Nelson and Lady Hamilton didn't care. They could not hide their love, they could not hide and lie. The situation was tragic and insoluble. The admiral understood that he was questioning his reputation and, to a large extent, his career. For Emma, ​​loving Nelson was fraught with even greater trouble. With incredible efforts, she achieved a high position in society, becoming the worthy wife of an aristocratic envoy, a very, very rich man, and a friend of the Queen of Naples! Her love for Nelson forever deprived her of everything without giving anything in return. Divorce in those days in England could only be carried out by an act of parliament, that is, it was practically impossible. Sir William carefully pretended not to notice anything, but did he, in fact, notice nothing? And Nelson's wife? She still remained in England, living with the rear admiral’s relatives.
The Admiralty was even more dissatisfied with Nelson's repeated manifestations of indiscipline. There they were tired of his frequent letters complaining about his health (when Nelson had troubles, he immediately fell ill). The Lords believed that the rear admiral paid too much attention to the interests of the Kingdom of Naples to the detriment of his other duties. One day Nelson received the following stern letter from Lord Spencer: ‘I wish, my lord, that your health would enable you to remain in the Mediterranean. But I think, in agreement with the opinion of all your friends, that you would rather recover in England than remain inactive at a foreign court, no matter how pleasant the respect and gratitude instilled in you by your merits there.”
On June 10, 1800, Nelson and the Hamilton couple (William was recalled to England), as well as Queen Caroline, left Palermo for Livorno on the ship Foudroyant. From Livorno to Ancona they proceeded by land. Next, the Russian frigate took the travelers to Trieste, then in crews they arrived in Vienna. Here Caroline tenderly said goodbye to her friend. And our strange travelers went further to Hamburg, from where they reached Yarmouth by sea on November 6th. Horatio Nelson and the Hamilton couple returned to their homeland.

An outstanding naval soldier, the admiral was incredibly naive in human relations. Returning from Italy to London in 1800, he sincerely hoped that his family affairs would somehow work out, that his wife Fanny would understand everything and come to terms with the existence of Emma Hamilton. Naturally, nothing came of this; a complete and final break occurred. Fanny was a reasonable woman and did not even listen to her husband’s nonsense about divorce. Nelson wrote to his wife Farewell letter, in which he said that she never gave him a reason to reproach her for anything. Fanny had to live separately; all relationships, even correspondence, were interrupted. Nelson made sure his wife wanted for nothing and provided her with a pension of £1,200 a year. This was quite enough to lead a lifestyle appropriate to her position - after all, she remained legally the wife of the vice admiral, Viscountess Nelson.

Fanny, Viscountess Nelson

This was the last time Nelson showed himself to be a man caring for a woman. And paradoxically, it was an unloved, abandoned wife.
From October 1801 to May 1803, Nelson was free from official duties and lived in England with the Hamiltons. In 1801, Emma had a daughter, she was named Horatia, but neither the admiral nor Emma could recognize the daughter. Horatia was baptized as the daughter of Vice Admiral Charles Thompson. Emma and Nelson were godparents. Another daughter died a few weeks after her birth in early 1803. They say that Lord Hamilton did not suspect anything and continued to quietly enjoy looking at his collections, sitting in his chair. I doubt this is the case. I think that he, already a 70-year-old man, did not want to lose his family, even such a strange one, and did not want to be left without Emma’s tender daughterly care. But he probably already had a certain plan for revenge.

Nelson had never owned his own home, and he longed to buy one. Now, with a government pension and income from the ducal estate in Sicily, this dream could be realized. Enterprising Emma found a decent house with a fairly large plot of land about ten kilometers from London. It was Merton. In September 1801 Nelson became owner of the estate. The entire amount for Merton - 9 thousand pounds sterling - had to be paid to him alone, although both Nelson and the Hamiltons intended to live there.

Emma and Lord Hamilton at Merton

Emma, ​​with her usual passion, began rebuilding the house and redeveloping the site. Nelson liked it here. He loved to talk with the captains who often visited him, walking along the platform, which was called the “stern”. The other area was called the "deck". In general, everyone who visited Merton said that this estate was a museum of one man, and that man was the great, the greatest and the godlike Admiral Nelson. His portraits and paintings hung everywhere, depicting the battles won by the admiral. The whole way of life in Merton was built to please Nelson. Emma was happy to please her lover in everything. A large stream flowed through the land - a tributary of the River Wendle, which flowed into the Thames. Emma named him Little Nile. Sir William became addicted to fishing and sat for a long time with a fishing rod on the quiet bank of the Little Nile. He often visited London, spending whole days at the British Museum, where a significant part of his art collection was located. Sir William wanted peace and quiet. Like all old people, he loved to sit comfortably in a chair or on the bank of a river and think about the meaning of life. In general, he needed a “quiet home,” but Merton was not one.

There were endless guests in Merton; no less than fifteen people sat at the table every day. Expenses were rising, but there wasn't much money. Nelson is not Lord Hamilton, the admiral is not a rich man... and Emma is not used to saving... If there was twice as much money, Lady Hamilton would have spent it too.
On April 6, 1803, the “union of three” came to an end. William Hamilton has died. The funeral took place in Pembrokeshire. Nelson did not attend them: he did not like funerals and, if possible, tried to avoid such sad ceremonies. Emma mourned the death of a man who had done so much for her and was always kind to her. “April 6 is an unlucky day for orphaned Emma. At 10:10 am, faithful Sir William left me forever! _ she wrote in her diary.

It was then that it became completely clear that Lord William knew everything about the relationship between his wife and Nelson. And he understood very well whose daughter Horatia was. Not wanting the Hamilton fortune to pass into the wrong hands, he left Emma nothing, appointing Charles Greville as his sole heir. This meant that the future of Lady Hamilton and Horatia was entirely in Nelson's hands.
But Emma didn't care much about that. All her thoughts were focused on something else. The passing of Sir William made her “blue dream” - to officially become the wife of her lover - somewhat more real. However, the rightful Lady Nelson still stood on the way to the altar. Naive Emma, ​​like a child, really!
After Hamilton's death, Emma and Nelson were finally able to take in their dearly loved Horatia, who was brought up in another family. It seemed that now nothing would separate them.
Alas, it only seemed...
As a true military man, Nelson loved naval battles and gladly responded to the Admiralty's offer to lead the fleet in the war with the French. In the upcoming battle, the British hoped not just to achieve victory, but to decisively crush the naval power of the enemy (at least, that was the task). Nelson could not help but understand that such a battle would require great sacrifices. In those days, admirals and captains were on the upper deck in the midst of battle and were exposed to the same danger as ordinary sailors. Nelson lost an eye in battle, then a hand, and no one could guarantee that this time a stray cannonball would not take his life.
And, what is absolutely shocking, knowing this, Nelson was not at all concerned about the fate of Emma and his daughter, did not think about writing a will that could protect them from poverty. Nelson was pleased with his appointment. In a letter to a friend, he explains: “I am going because it is right and necessary, and I will render faithful service to my country.”

Emma was in despair, she understood that Horatio had already decided everything, and her pleas were useless. As if I had a presentiment of eternal separation, she burst into tears and tried not to part with her beloved for a second.
On the eve of the battle, which promised to be terrible and bloody, Nelson decided to put his affairs in order. And he even made a will. It sounded like this: “I entrust Emma Lady Hamilton to the care of my king and country. I hope they will provide for her so that she can live according to her rank. I also bequeath to the mercy of my country my adopted daughter Horatia Nelson Thompson and wish that in the future she will be called only Nelson."
How amazing is the naivety and simple-heartedness of this man, wise in campaigns and battles! He was convinced that he great love to Emma - quite a sufficient reason for the government to generously provide for her. He could not help but know - Lady Hamilton had told him this a thousand times - that in high society she was hated, condemned and despised.

Horatia Nelson kneeling before her father's grave (William Owen, after 1807). The picture is completely fantasy, but touching

Nelson felt this himself. And yet, a few minutes before the mortal battle, he entrusts the two creatures most dear to him to the care of the king! Instead of leaving them your fortune. Naivety bordering on idiocy and dishonesty! It was said that when Emma learned the contents of this will a few weeks later, she exclaimed: “What a child my Nelson was!” God, what a heart this woman had, who for some reason they like to call either a courtesan or an adventuress!
Nelson died, fulfilling his duty to England and leaving Emma and Horatia alone and poor. Emma was disgraced by her scandalous relationship with the admiral, and all doors were closed in front of her.

Nelson's death

Merton became unaffordable to support, and Emma sold him. Not knowing how to save, she quickly spent the money she received from the sale. Lady Hamilton wrote endlessly to the Admiralty, reminding not only of Nelson's will, but also of her services to England. Alas, no answer. She tried to remind Maria Caroline of her past friendship, of how much she had done to save the royal family - in vain. She wrote to Grenville, her former lover and heir to Lord Hamilton, but he did not answer her letters. The money was melting, the creditors did not give a reprieve... Lady Hamilton ended up in debtor's prison, where she spent about ten months. In the spring or summer of 1814, Joshua Jonathan Smith, a lawyer, managed to get her released on bail and help her escape to Calais, France.
The unhappy, sick woman kept trying to find at least some means so that her priceless Horatia would not starve, so that she could receive at least some kind of education.

Emma Hamilton and Madam Bianchi seated at a square piano

Alas, this was no longer possible for Emma, ​​who was once so full of energy. Life was over, and it was in vain to remember the past. On January 15, 1815, poor Emma, ​​passionate and talented, beautiful, bright, brilliant, loving, died in terrible poverty...

Horatia returned to France after her mother's death. To avoid arrest for her mother's debts, she arrived dressed as a boy, found Nelson's relatives and lived happily with them until her marriage. She died on March 6, 1881 at the age of 80.

The only thing left from Emma in this world is the Lady Hamilton rose.

Rose "Lady Hamilton"

Her radiance was in vain, her life was in vain. From dust we came, to dust we return.

So many of them fell into this abyss,
I'll open up in the distance!
The day will come when I too will disappear
From the surface of the earth.

Everything that sang and fought will freeze,
It shone and burst:
And the green of my eyes and my gentle voice,
And gold hair.
Tsvetaeva

Booker Igor 02/14/2019 at 14:00

Lady Hamilton is Admiral Nelson's mistress and muse of portrait artist George Romney. She passed from hand to hand: Greville, Hamilton, Nelson... When Lord Nelson died, Emma Hamilton also disappeared, although she outlived her famous lover by ten years. Novels were written and films were made about this scandalous person, and a hundred years after her death an operetta was staged.

Amy Lyon was the daughter of Chester blacksmith Henry Lyon and maid Mary Lyon, née Kidd. The girl, born at the end of April, was baptized on May 12, 1765, and a month later her father died. The widow and child left for native village, where she settled with her mother Sarah Kidd. From the age of six, Amy delivered coal on a donkey, and at twelve she became a nanny in the house of the village doctor, surgeon Honoratus Leigh Thomas. After a year, Amy moved to London.

There is such contradictory information about her life in the capital that it is very difficult to figure out where the lie is and where the truth is. Perhaps Amy got a job as a saleswoman in a jewelry store, one of whose clients was a lady of dubious reputation. She noticed Amy's pretty face and invited her to become her companion. Regarding Amy's loss of innocence, they say that she decided to help her relative, who was taken into the sailors against his will, and turned to his boss.

Londoners were then crazy about the charlatan James Graham, who studied the art of magnetism in Paris with Mesmer himself. The Scottish healer gave fascinating lectures about eternal youth, sold talismans and medicines. Close to the Thames embankment between Royal Terrace and the Adelphi Theater, Graham founded Temple of Health- “Temple of Health”, issued by them as a medical institution. In this essentially brothel, wealthy but infertile couples, for a reasonable fee, went to bed in the “heavenly bed” to restore their ability to fertilize and conceive. Emma posed for him either under the guise of Hebe or Juventa, the goddess of youth, or portrayed the heroines of antiquity from Medea to Cleopatra. Her naked charms were intended to awaken the extinct desires of men, and her art of draping in ancient Greek clothes introduced fashion for antique bedspreads.

The beauty of Emma's body was appreciated by English artists Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough and the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. She forever won the heart of portrait painter George Romney, becoming a model in his studio. Inspired by this recognition, Amy decided to become an actress. However, playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, after listening to her recitation, said that she was not suitable for the stage. It must have been so bad that the Irishman Sheridan rejected the English girl who grew up in Wales.

In 1781, she met the wealthy, young dandy Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh, who invited her to stay at his father's magnificent villa in Sussex. Emma stayed there for six months. Since Harry’s mother often visited there, the high society bloke settled his mistress in a cottage several miles away. Amy throws money at clothes and pleasures, becomes a dashing horsewoman and sometimes dances naked on the table. Metressa became disgusted with her lover, and when in December 1781 he found out that Emma was expecting a child, he hastened to part with her. She returned not to London, but to her native village of Hawarden. There Emma gave birth to little Amy. She sends letters to her London acquaintances asking for help. They are written with numerous spelling errors and indicate that the beauty Amy was almost illiterate.

Professor Higgins in relation to Emma-Galatea was Sir Charles Greville. A subtle connoisseur of art with great taste furnished a country house where his passion lived quietly and alone. Emma studied spelling, music, singing and read a lot. Almost her only entertainment was to visit Romney’s workshop twice a week. The portrait artist managed to complete 24 portraits of Emma and also created countless sketches. Emma called the artist “father.”

Greville decided to improve his affairs by marrying a rich heiress and was thinking about how to arrange the fate of his already tired mistress, when his uncle, the English envoy to Naples, Lord William Douglas Hamilton, returned to London. Bon vivant, athlete, cheerful and intelligent conversationalist, dancer, singer, violinist and archaeologist, diplomat Hamilton was captivated by Emma's beauty and charm. On her birthday - she turned 21 - April 26, 1786, Emma and her mother arrived in Naples. Lord Hamilton installed the two women as if they were ladies of high society in the Palazzo Sessa, the magnificent residence of the British ambassador.

“You cannot imagine,” Amy wrote to Greville, “how kind Sir William is to me. He does everything possible to see me happy. He never dines out. In truth, he has not left me more often since my arrival.” than my shadow. Really, I'm angry that I can't make him happy. I can only be polite and kind. And in fact, I'm as nice to him as I can. But I'm yours too, Greville. To you alone can I belong and no one will take your place in my heart." In response, Charles advises her to quickly become the mistress of his 55-year-old uncle. Outraged by such cynicism of her loved one, Amy wrote to him: “If you push me to the extreme, I will marry him.”

Emma carried out her threat on September 6, 1791, when she married Lord Hamilton in London. On the eve of her wedding, she came to say goodbye to her “daddy” Romney, and the day after the wedding, the Hamilton couple left for Italy. On the way, they stopped in Paris, where Empress Marie Antoinette, already under constant surveillance, secretly handed Amy a letter to her sister, the Neapolitan Queen Maria Carolina. Such an assignment opened the doors of the Neapolitan Palace to Emma. In a short time, Amy and Maria Caroline became friends.

On September 22, 1798, all of Naples solemnly welcomed the winner of Aboukir, Admiral Horatio Nelson. Amy met Nelson three months before the naval commander's triumph. On September 29, Emma threw a grand celebration on the occasion of Nelson's birthday. In a letter to his wife, the admiral wrote that about 80 guests were invited to the dinner party and at least 1,740 guests were present at the ball. An incident occurred. Nelson's eighteen-year-old stepson publicly reproached his adoptive father for cheating on his wife with Lady Hamilton. The last campaign somewhat upset Horatio's health, and he gladly accepted Lady Hamilton's invitation to rest in Castel Mare.

When service matters forced Nelson to leave Naples, in his absence he transferred power to Emma Hamilton. One day she received a delegation from the island of Malta and granted their requests. At Nelson's request, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Russian Emperor Paul I, sent her the Maltese cross in December 1799. But soon Lord Hamilton was recalled from his post as envoy to London. Nelson followed his beloved. Maria Caroline accompanied them to Vienna. In the capital of Great Britain, Emma Hamilton was met with hostility.

On January 31, 1801, Lady Hamilton gave birth to Nelson's daughter Horatia. In the autumn of that year, Nelson bought Merton Place, a small, run-down house on the outskirts of what is now Wimbledon. There he lived openly with Emma, ​​Sir William and Emma's mother, this menage à trois,"marriage for three" did not leave the public indifferent. The newspapers wrote about her every move, reporting what outfits she wore, how her home was decorated, and even the dinner party menu. However, her former beauty left her - Emma gained weight. Nelson didn't like the active public life, which his beloved craved. Emma turned down an offer from the Madrid Royal Opera to sing on its stage for money. Lady Hamilton and Nelson tried to start a new, quiet life.

In April 1803, Lord Hamilton died in the arms of Emma and Nelson. The lord's fortune passed to his only heir, Sir Greville, and his wife received only things and a lump sum. Two weeks after the funeral, Greville asked Emma to find another place to live. Outraged by his behavior, Nelson gives Emma Merton Place and gives her a monthly annuity. Early in 1804 she gave birth to Nelson's second child. The girl died shortly after birth. Out of desperation, Emma began to gamble for money. If Horatio gets a divorce, then she could marry him.

Before the famous Battle of Trafalgar, which turned out to be the last for the admiral, Nelson added one more clause to his will: “The only favor I ask from my Sovereign and from my homeland is concern for the fate of Lady Hamilton and little Horatia.” The government ignored the request of the national hero. Nelson's widow and relatives were rewarded with a generous hand, and his beloved woman and daughter found themselves on the brink of poverty. Emma spent almost a year in debtor's prison. In 1811, her mother, who was always with her and earned the respect of all Emma's acquaintances, died. Fleeing from creditors, Lady Hamilton and her daughter Horatia fled to France. In January 1815, Emma fell ill with bronchitis, which turned into pneumonia. Above the dying woman's bed hung two portraits - of her mother and of Nelson. Sobbing at her deathbed, Horatia would never publicly admit that she was Emma Hamilton's daughter.

Amy Lyon - blacksmith's daughter; Emily Hart - nanny and saleswoman; Lady Emma Hamilton is the wife of the English ambassador. It's all one woman, and it's hers life path- from a poor closet to a luxurious palace. Extraordinary beauty, she was a real obsession for the famous portrait painter George Romney. He saw in her the ideal of female beauty and depicted her in more than fifty paintings in different costumes and poses - from a bacchante to Joan of Arc. She was also painted by other artists, including the great English artist Reynolds and the fashionable portrait painter Vigée Lebrun.

She was born in 1763 in Cheshire into a very poor family. Her parents were illiterate and put crosses on her birth certificate instead of a signature. When her father died, she moved with her mother to London as a teenager. Here she first worked as a servant, and then in a fruit store. Visitors could not help but pay attention to the girl's striking beauty, and many temptations and seducers appeared. One of them, the high-society scoundrel Charles Greville, made her his mistress and took her to his estate along with her mother. He loved her in his own way and was engaged (quite successfully) in her education, but when he became entangled in debts, without hesitation, he sold her to pay off these debts and transfer the property to him in the will of his uncle Lord William Hamilton, who was at that time the English ambassador to Kingdom of Naples.

Lord William Hamilton, an amateur archaeologist and a keen connoisseur of art, especially ancient art, first treated Emma as a beautiful work and wanted to bring this work to perfection. He hired her teachers of singing, music, foreign languages, taught social manners. She had at her disposal luxurious apartments overlooking the Bay of Naples and maids. However, he soon saw Emma’s other qualities: her quick mind, will, and innate tact. And her extraordinary kindness, which is evidenced by many facts, including the fact that she helped her grandmother with money until her death and, without shame, took her poorly educated mother with her everywhere. (It must be said that her mother Mrs. Cadogan did not disgrace her - she learned to read and write, always behaved with dignity and forced herself to respect everyone around Hamilton and Nelson.) Open, impulsive and kind, Emma easily won the love of those around her - from servants to high society persons. She even became a close friend of the Neapolitan queen Maria Carolina. “Such a woman, after some polishing, can be a good wife for a diplomat,” Lord Hamilton decided and married Emma. Now all the salons in Naples were open to her. Balls, masquerades, concerts in which she sang excellently. She was even offered to perform in the opera.

And suddenly all this carefree life collapsed - she met Admiral Horatio Nelson. He came to Naples as a hero after defeating Napoleon on the Nile. What attracted her to this one-eyed, one-armed man, mutilated in battle? Sl

ava hero, intelligence and courage or boundless admiration for her? Is it possible to explain why and how love arises? And this was true love on both sides - selfless, devoted, not taking into account the opinion of the world. Nelson called Emma his “wife before God,” his “pride and delight.” Her letters to him, which have reached us, are full of deep tenderness, admiration and care. Because of his status, Admiral Nelson could not officially divorce his wife, although after 1801 they separated and Nelson paid her a large allowance. And Emma did not dare to leave her old and almost helpless husband. And although Emma and Nelson hardly hid their connection, it was as painful for them as it was joyful. At all the receptions and ceremonies that were held in honor of the national hero Admiral Nelson, people saw them nearby, and there was no end to the gossip. The doors of the social drawing rooms were open only to Nelson, and the queen refused to invite Emma to court, despite her noble title. Emma had a daughter and named her after her father Horace. Nelson spent all his free time from official duties with Emma and his daughter in the country house. He called these days “precious.”

Emma was in Nelson's thoughts until the very last minute of his life. During the famous Battle of Trafalgar he was mortally wounded. As Winston Churchill put it, he then shielded England from Napoleon's invasion. And in these moments, realizing that his life was ending, he spoke about what was most dear to him - about his homeland and Emma Hamilton. “Thank God, I have fulfilled my duty to the country,” he said to Doctor Scott, bending over him. “Say my regards to my dear Lady Hamilton. Let her take my hair and all the things that belong to me.” Worried, he kept repeating: “I entrust Lady Hamilton to the care of my country.” In Nelson's cabin, Captain Hardy found a letter addressed to Emma: “My dearly beloved Emma, ​​my closest heart friend, the signal has now been given that the combined enemy fleet is leaving the harbor. The wind is very weak, so I have no hope of seeing it before tomorrow day. May God crown my efforts! In any case, I will do my best to ensure that my name remains dear to both of you, since I love both of you more own life. And how now my last lines, which I write before the battle, are

puppies to you, so I hope to God that I will remain alive and finish my letter after the battle. May heaven bless you: this is what your Nelson prays for."

This unfinished letter was given to Emma. With a trembling hand she wrote on it: “Oh, poor, unhappy Emma! Oh, glorious and happy Nelson!”

She had a presentiment that this is exactly what would happen: the country would honor its hero and trample on her. Nelson's request in his will, written on the eve of Trafalgar, to take care of Emma and his daughter was not taken into account. “I entrust Emma, ​​Lady Hamilton, to the care of my king and country,” Nelson asked. Neither the king nor the fatherland did absolutely nothing for Emma and Nelson's daughter. They preferred to forget even about the undoubted services that Emma provided to her country. After all, it was she who persuaded the Neapolitan king, bound by obligations to Napoleon, to allow the English fleet, which was in critical situation, replenish provisions and water in the ports of Sicily. And more than once, thanks to her connections with the queen, documents came into her hands that revealed conspiracies of European powers against England. When handing these documents to Emma, ​​the Neapolitan queen sometimes made the following note: “Return them before 12 so that the king can read them.” And these papers, sometimes very important, ended up on the desk of the English ambassador before the Neapolitan king got acquainted with them.

Hamilton's nephew Charles Greville, Emma's former lover, kicked Emma out of the London house without a shadow of regret. The Queen refused her the pension Hamilton had bequeathed to her. She was sliding downhill more and more. She even sold the bloody uniform of the hero Trafalgar and the silver medallion Nelson gave to his daughter. She went to prison for debt and came out with just a few pounds in her pocket. She had to flee to France, as she was threatened with re-arrest. Here she changed housing for increasingly worse ones, until she found herself in the attic. At the hour of her death in 1814, portraits of Nelson and her mother hung above her bed. And sad Christ on the crucifixion.

The sailors who idolized their admiral turned out to be not as ungrateful and forgetful as the nobility and the government: all the officers and captains of the English ships stationed at the roadstead in Calais came to see Emma off on her last journey.

However, I don’t want to remember old and poor Emma. It is better that an incomparable beauty, passionately loving and equally selflessly loved, remains in memory

Booker Igor 02/14/2019 at 14:00

Lady Hamilton is Admiral Nelson's mistress and muse of portrait artist George Romney. She passed from hand to hand: Greville, Hamilton, Nelson... When Lord Nelson died, Emma Hamilton also disappeared, although she outlived her famous lover by ten years. Novels were written and films were made about this scandalous person, and a hundred years after her death an operetta was staged.

Amy Lyon was the daughter of Chester blacksmith Henry Lyon and maid Mary Lyon, née Kidd. The girl, born at the end of April, was baptized on May 12, 1765, and a month later her father died. The widow and child left for her native village, where she settled with her mother Sarah Kidd. From the age of six, Amy delivered coal on a donkey, and at twelve she became a nanny in the house of the village doctor, surgeon Honoratus Leigh Thomas. After a year, Amy moved to London.

There is such contradictory information about her life in the capital that it is very difficult to figure out where the lie is and where the truth is. Perhaps Amy got a job as a saleswoman in a jewelry store, one of whose clients was a lady of dubious reputation. She noticed Amy's pretty face and invited her to become her companion. Regarding Amy's loss of innocence, they say that she decided to help her relative, who was taken into the sailors against his will, and turned to his boss.

Londoners were then crazy about the charlatan James Graham, who studied the art of magnetism in Paris with Mesmer himself. The Scottish healer gave fascinating lectures about eternal youth, sold talismans and medicines. Close to the Thames embankment between Royal Terrace and the Adelphi Theater, Graham founded Temple of Health- “Temple of Health”, issued by them as a medical institution. In this essentially brothel, wealthy but infertile couples, for a reasonable fee, went to bed in the “heavenly bed” to restore their ability to fertilize and conceive. Emma posed for him either under the guise of Hebe or Juventa, the goddess of youth, or portrayed the heroines of antiquity from Medea to Cleopatra. Her naked charms were intended to awaken the extinct desires of men, and her art of draping in ancient Greek clothes introduced fashion for antique bedspreads.

The beauty of Emma's body was appreciated by English artists Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough and the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. She forever won the heart of portrait painter George Romney, becoming a model in his studio. Inspired by this recognition, Amy decided to become an actress. However, playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, after listening to her recitation, said that she was not suitable for the stage. It must have been so bad that the Irishman Sheridan rejected the English girl who grew up in Wales.

In 1781, she met the wealthy, young dandy Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh, who invited her to stay at his father's magnificent villa in Sussex. Emma stayed there for six months. Since Harry’s mother often visited there, the high society bloke settled his mistress in a cottage several miles away. Amy throws money at clothes and pleasures, becomes a dashing horsewoman and sometimes dances naked on the table. Metressa became disgusted with her lover, and when in December 1781 he found out that Emma was expecting a child, he hastened to part with her. She returned not to London, but to her native village of Hawarden. There Emma gave birth to little Amy. She sends letters to her London acquaintances asking for help. They are written with numerous spelling errors and indicate that the beauty Amy was almost illiterate.

Professor Higgins in relation to Emma-Galatea was Sir Charles Greville. A subtle connoisseur of art with great taste furnished a country house where his passion lived quietly and alone. Emma studied spelling, music, singing and read a lot. Almost her only entertainment was to visit Romney’s workshop twice a week. The portrait artist managed to complete 24 portraits of Emma and also created countless sketches. Emma called the artist “father.”

Greville decided to improve his affairs by marrying a rich heiress and was thinking about how to arrange the fate of his already tired mistress, when his uncle, the English envoy to Naples, Lord William Douglas Hamilton, returned to London. Bon vivant, athlete, cheerful and intelligent conversationalist, dancer, singer, violinist and archaeologist, diplomat Hamilton was captivated by Emma's beauty and charm. On her birthday - she turned 21 - April 26, 1786, Emma and her mother arrived in Naples. Lord Hamilton installed the two women as if they were ladies of high society in the Palazzo Sessa, the magnificent residence of the British ambassador.

“You cannot imagine,” Amy wrote to Greville, “how kind Sir William is to me. He does everything possible to see me happy. He never dines out. In truth, he has not left me more often since my arrival.” than my shadow. Really, I'm angry that I can't make him happy. I can only be polite and kind. And in fact, I'm as nice to him as I can. But I'm yours too, Greville. To you alone can I belong and no one will take your place in my heart." In response, Charles advises her to quickly become the mistress of his 55-year-old uncle. Outraged by such cynicism of her loved one, Amy wrote to him: “If you push me to the extreme, I will marry him.”

Emma carried out her threat on September 6, 1791, when she married Lord Hamilton in London. On the eve of her wedding, she came to say goodbye to her “daddy” Romney, and the day after the wedding, the Hamilton couple left for Italy. On the way, they stopped in Paris, where Empress Marie Antoinette, already under constant surveillance, secretly handed Amy a letter to her sister, the Neapolitan Queen Maria Carolina. Such an assignment opened the doors of the Neapolitan Palace to Emma. In a short time, Amy and Maria Caroline became friends.

On September 22, 1798, all of Naples solemnly welcomed the winner of Aboukir, Admiral Horatio Nelson. Amy met Nelson three months before the naval commander's triumph. On September 29, Emma threw a grand celebration on the occasion of Nelson's birthday. In a letter to his wife, the admiral wrote that about 80 guests were invited to the dinner party and at least 1,740 guests were present at the ball. An incident occurred. Nelson's eighteen-year-old stepson publicly reproached his adoptive father for cheating on his wife with Lady Hamilton. The last campaign somewhat upset Horatio's health, and he gladly accepted Lady Hamilton's invitation to rest in Castel Mare.

When service matters forced Nelson to leave Naples, in his absence he transferred power to Emma Hamilton. One day she received a delegation from the island of Malta and granted their requests. At Nelson's request, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Russian Emperor Paul I, sent her the Maltese cross in December 1799. But soon Lord Hamilton was recalled from his post as envoy to London. Nelson followed his beloved. Maria Caroline accompanied them to Vienna. In the capital of Great Britain, Emma Hamilton was met with hostility.

On January 31, 1801, Lady Hamilton gave birth to Nelson's daughter Horatia. In the autumn of that year, Nelson bought Merton Place, a small, run-down house on the outskirts of what is now Wimbledon. There he lived openly with Emma, ​​Sir William and Emma's mother, this menage à trois,"marriage for three" did not leave the public indifferent. The newspapers wrote about her every move, reporting what outfits she wore, how her home was decorated, and even the dinner party menu. However, her former beauty left her - Emma gained weight. Nelson did not like the active social life that his lover craved. Emma turned down an offer from the Madrid Royal Opera to sing on its stage for money. Lady Hamilton and Nelson tried to start a new, quiet life.

In April 1803, Lord Hamilton died in the arms of Emma and Nelson. The lord's fortune passed to his only heir, Sir Greville, and his wife received only things and a lump sum. Two weeks after the funeral, Greville asked Emma to find another place to live. Outraged by his behavior, Nelson gives Emma Merton Place and gives her a monthly annuity. Early in 1804 she gave birth to Nelson's second child. The girl died shortly after birth. Out of desperation, Emma began to gamble for money. If Horatio gets a divorce, then she could marry him.

Before the famous Battle of Trafalgar, which turned out to be the last for the admiral, Nelson added one more clause to his will: “The only favor I ask from my Sovereign and from my homeland is concern for the fate of Lady Hamilton and little Horatia.” The government ignored the request of the national hero. Nelson's widow and relatives were rewarded with a generous hand, and his beloved woman and daughter found themselves on the brink of poverty. Emma spent almost a year in debtor's prison. In 1811, her mother, who was always with her and earned the respect of all Emma's acquaintances, died. Fleeing from creditors, Lady Hamilton and her daughter Horatia fled to France. In January 1815, Emma fell ill with bronchitis, which turned into pneumonia. Above the dying woman's bed hung two portraits - of her mother and of Nelson. Sobbing at her deathbed, Horatia would never publicly admit that she was Emma Hamilton's daughter.