Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby — the Ladies of Llangollen
- Creator(s):
- Montpensier, Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de
- Title:
- Mémoires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier: fille de Gaston d'Orléans, frere de Louis XIII, roi de France
- Publication/Origin:
- Maastricht: Chez J. Edme Dufour & Phil. Roux, 1776
- Description:
- In the late eighteenth century, aristocrat Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, the young orphaned daughter of Chambre Brabazon Ponsonby, abandoned their lives in Ireland and made a home for themselves in Llangollen, Wales, to the disapproval of both their families. Known as the Ladies of Llangollen, they appeared to have understood their relationship as a marriage. They were part of an emerging culture of relationships between same-sex couples. This book from the Ladies' library was purchased by Edward Lloyd of Rhagatt “at the sale of the effects of the Ladies of Llangollen, on the third day’s sale.”
- Citation:
- Montpensier, Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de, Mémoires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier: fille de Gaston d'Orléans, frere de Louis XIII, roi de France, Maastricht: Chez J. Edme Dufour & Phil. Roux, 1776, Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Accessed April 20, 2024, https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/baskin/item/4043