Mary Stanley, Lady Derby

Politics

She was heavily involved in Victorian politics. Her father was a friend of the Duchess of Kent which meant she was part of Victoria's circle while growing up. As a result of her strong family connections, while she was married to the marquess of Salisbury, she turned their house, Hatfield House, into a strong Tory base. Frequent visitors to the home were Lord Carnarvon, Disraeli, and Hugh Cairns.

After the death of her first husband and her second marriage she lost Hatfield but continued her strong presence in British politics. She influenced Cabinet members and foreign ambassadors at times a matter of some concern. She was rumoured to have leaked confidential information to the Russian Ambassador Count Shuvalov, though the certainty of this is unclear. However, Disraeli nonetheless used the idea to alienate Lord Derby amongst the cabinet colleagues, in an effort to gather support for a firmer approach against Russia in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). Jennifer Davey regards Lady Derby's political involvement in the Eastern Crisis to have almost destroyed her husband's career, who resigned twice as Foreign Secretary between January and March 1878 before defecting to the Liberal Party.

Lady Derby was also in regular correspondence with her friends who included Charles Darwin, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Henry Irving.

Her letters were gathered in a book. Her papers are also available through the national archives.

She was a well enough known figure to have been mentioned by Virginia Woolf in Orlando: A Biography