Emma Lady Hamilton born 1761; baptised 12 May 1765 – 15 January 1815 George Romney is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Ne
Emma Lady Hamilton born 1761; baptised 12 May 1765 – 15 January 1815 George Romney is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old. She was brought up by her mother, formerly Mary Kidd, at Hawarden, with no formal education. She later changed her name to Emma Hart. Details of Emma's early life are unclear, but at age 12 she was known to be working as a maid at the Hawarden home of Doctor Honoratus Leigh Thomas, a surgeon working in Chester. Although this employment provided an escape from abject poverty, she was sacked after just a few months, presumably for poor work. She headed for London. There she worked for the Budd family in Chatham Place, Blackfriars. There she met a maid called Jane Powell, who wanted to be an actress. Emma joined in with Jane's rehearsals for various tragic roles - Jane is known to have played parts in local theatres. Emma and Jane enjoyed city life, but their excursions into London's unsavoury nightlife, and particularly their likely liaisons with young men, soon led Mrs Budd to sack the pair. Emma went back to her mother, who was at this time living in comparative squalor near Oxford Street. Inspired by Jane's enthusiasm for the theatre, Emma started work at the Drury Lane theatre in Covent Garden, as maid to various actresses, among them Mary Robinson (see below). However, this paid little, and she supplemented her income by working Drury Lane as a prostitute. She soon gained employ in a local tavern/brothel. It was here that she became a strip tease artiste, a performance that involved striking lewd poses for the viewers. In later years she would use elements of this act, minus the nudity and lewdness, in what would become her Attitudes.
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Photo credit: © 19th era / Alamy / Afripics
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