The Caroline Bingley Diaries - Part Nine

[the_shrubbery]

May 17th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne


Wonder if one would count Queen Anne Boleyn as great? Librarian tells me she was a witch & adulteress but then on the other hand she was the mother of Queen Elizabeth.

May 18th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne

I suppose Katharine of Aragon would not count either, being Catholic & foreign. Really must find out more.

Have not seen L at all lately. Must confess am slightly worried about her in spite of her abysmal behaviour towards self & her incident. Wonder if I should tell anyone but then there is question of whom. Could tell D I suppose but then he already helped so much with C (of course he was as much at fault there as me) & also do not want to rely on him constantly.

Could definitely not tell the PG who keeps avoiding me anyway, not that I care.

May 21st:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine

Have decided Queen Eleanor counts in spite of being French because Aquitaine then became English territory. Biographical tome went on & on about her husband & her sons but must say think Eleanor most interesting of them all. Found book about the early Plantagenets in Uncle Algie’s library & there was lots of info about Queen Eleanor & think she is the greatest of the family. After all what did Richard Lionheart and John Lackland ever achieve but losing lands & life?

Still have not heard from the PG but is not as if I cared about him. After all there were no promises exchanged & alleyway incident went completely unobserved so is not as if he were in any way obliged to me. Though I suppose a true gentleman would call on a lady after such an incident.

May 22nd:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine

Maybe he does not think me a lady? Maybe he thought this is the sort of thing I do with lots of gentlemen? Not that he is a gentleman obviously if he keeps avoiding me.

Called on G today & told her about lack of success in finding Great Women. G said she vaguely recalled a Queen called Matilda but could not remember from when or where. Name rang a bell for me as well but could not say where I had heard it. Think it must have been somewhere recent. G promised she would ask her brother who was out.

Think I left my reticule at G’s. Must send her a note tomorrow.

May 23rd:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda?

D is going to kill me. First volume of The Woes of the Chaste Orphan Athalia was in my reticule & from G’s note, it appears that she found it & began reading it. And I specifically promised him I would not let her read it. Hope she does not mention it to him. Should probably talk to her.

May 24th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda

G promised to keep mum about The Woes of the Chaste Orphan Athalia if I lent her the other ones once she had finished the first. Agreed because there was little else I could do.

G then gave me several sheets of writing paper from her brother; was an essay he had written at Cambridge about Queen Matilda & additional notes from him on where to find out more. Must say D most fastidious writer ever especially compared to things C wrote at Cambridge.

C much better these days. D takes him boxing or riding most mornings & the exercise seems to agree with him.

May 25th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda

D really has most interesting points in his essay. Must ask him if he has other essays on historical figures of interest. G says better not ask him or he will not stop talking about them.

G showed me how she was hiding The Woes of the Chaste Orphan Athalia in hollowed-out covers of The Lady’s Guide to Genteel Behaviour. Was most shocked both at practicality of idea (wish I had thought of something like that when living with uncle Tiberius) & because I would never have expected it of G. G said she could not take credit for this as it was idea of her cousin Anne. Very surprising. Always thought that girl was sickly & insipid.

May 27th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda

G tells me D most happy at my request. Says she has not seen him so happy since before Easter & he will let me have essays as soon as he has made compilation of most suitable ones for my research. G warned me essays probably very clever & learned as her brother never does things by halves & always most dedicated in his learning.

G then wanted to talk about The Woes of the Chaste Orphan Athalia. Is absolutely convinced that Athalia cannot escape Lord Burkhead’s schemes in the end but I told her to read next book & promised Athalia would not die or be seduced.

G asked me if I thought that Count Haubenstein has any similarities to her cousin the P.G.

Could not really say as I am not thinking about him any more. Did not want to ask G if he was in London.

May 29th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby

He has been thinking of me after all! (Not that I care about that one way or another, obviously.) G showed me letter today in which he said he missed London, most of all the friends with whom he could visit the HoP & dreary locales to drink absinthe (vile stuff!). G says distance must make him romanticise things because he never visits the HoP. Close of the letter said that he gave his warmest regards to Miss Bingley & her family. G says he is somewhere in the country but she has no idea where or why.

D gave me interesting essay about sainthood in medieval England which made mention of St Hilda of Whitby & said he would try to find all he had researched about her.

Is v. refreshing to see woman who has become Great Woman not just because of whose wife or daughter she was but of her own merits. (Suppose Queen Elizabeth must also fall under that category because while she was the daughter of a king she had enough greatness of her own.)

May 31st:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby

So he thinks of me as a friend. I wonder if he really means it that way?

Wanted to visit L today but she was not at home, at least to me.

Miss her so much. Would like to talk things through again with her as we used to do.

Went to visit G who can scarcely talk of anything else but The Woes of the Chaste Orphan Athalia & is still convinced that Count Haubenstein is just like the PG. Could not talk about the matter with her because he is her cousin.

June 1st:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby
Queen Catherine Parr

Had long letter from A in which she said she always thought Queen Catherine Parr remarkably clever & shrewd woman at least until she fell in love. V. interesting information about Queen Catherine in her letter but wonder what the morale of that tale is.

June 2nd:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby
Queen Catherine Parr
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville
Queen Elizabeth of York

D sent essay a friend of his wrote about Elizabeth Wydeville & her daughters. V. strong women I am sure but in the end all that mattered was who married whom. Rather depressing idea.

Obviously one would wnt to get married but surely one would prefer to be married for themselves & not for some crown or alliance.

June 4th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby
Queen Catherine Parr
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville
Queen Elizabeth of York
Aphra Behn

Had tea with G. G still convinced that the count is just exactly like the PG. Thinks his silent & intimidating valet whom Athalia fears is based on D. Told her I thought she was too occupied with these matters but she only said not to worry & could I let her have volume III?

Close call on that because just as I got it out of my reticule, having anticipated her request, D himself came into the room. Managed to slip book under a cushion just in time. Felt slightly bad about deceiving him, esp. seeing as he had brought me essay a friend of his had written about espionage under Charles II, which made mention of Aphra Behn, most interesting character and most certainly nobody’s dependant. D said she also wrote novels & poetry & took interest in issues but he could not recommend reading her poetry as not at all suitable for unmarried ladies as he put it. (sounds fascinating!)

Wonder why D is always so censorious, just like Robberbothom the valet.

Oh no. What is G doing to me?

June 6th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby
Queen Catherine Parr
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville
Queen Elizabeth of York
Aphra Behn


L was here while I was out & did not even leave a message. Housekeeper says she only staid for a v. short time & only to look for something in the attic. V. odd. L never enters the attic because of the spiders. Did not bring my money either. Shall have to send her note asking for it. Really do not want to ask uncle Tiberius for advance on allowance, he always gets so preachy.

June 8th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby
Queen Catherine Parr
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville
Queen Elizabeth of York
Aphra Behn

Saw C today at breakfast. Used this rare incident to ask him if he knew if uncle Algie had poetry of Aphra Behn in his library. C did not know & said he had to go see a man about a dog or some such thing. Will have to resume search.

June 9th:

Greatest Women in English History:

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Anne
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Matilda
St Hilda of Whitby
Queen Catherine Parr
Queen Elizabeth Wydeville
Queen Elizabeth of York
Aphra Behn

G says the passage where Sir Vincent makes fun of Count Haubenstein because the count refuses to marry the immensely rich Madame Valentine (who was really Lord Paddenstool in disguise, but neither Athalia nor Sir Vincent knew at the time) happened just like so with the PG & his father. Says the PG told the Earl that he was not going to marry a sheep-eyed girl with nothing but vapours in her head for all the riches of Mithridates because he could not possible respect her & pointed out that the Count uses the exact same words.

Most curious.