Abstract

British diplomatic wives of the early nineteenth century were under increasing pressure to perform their public duties to higher standards of accountability. This article examines the embassies in Paris led by two women—Elizabeth Stuart and Harriet Granville—to ascertain how they negotiated the expectations of their post with respect to class and gender norms. Their records illustrate how new standards of state service could be set for women and how women’s hospitality work in the service of diplomacy could make it a more consultative political domain.

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