Ponsonby, Mary Elizabeth (1832-1916)

Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, nee Bulteel, was a Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria and the wife of Henry Ponsonby, the Queen's private secretary, but to George Eliot she was a close friend and intellectual companion. They first met at the Priory on 16 March 1873, and Eliot wrote to her regularly in 1874-1879, confiding about religion and philosophy, calling herself not a teacher but "a companion in the struggle of thought," and asking Mary's help in finding work for the young Hertha Marks. Her daughter later described Mary as "a disciple of George Eliot and Herbert Spencer," and her obituary called her "for some years an intimate friend of George Eliot." Mary was also a founder member of the committee that set up Girton College, Cambridge, and served for thirty years on the Society for the Employment of Women.

George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org

To:
GE to the Hon. Mrs. Henry Frederick Ponsonby, London, 10 December 1874
GE to the Hon. Mrs. Henry Frederick Ponsonby, London, 30 January 1875
GE to the Hon. Mrs. Henry Frederick Ponsonby, London, 11 February 1875
GE to the Hon. Mrs. Henry Frederick Ponsonby, Rickmansworth, 19 August 1875
GE to the Hon. Mrs. Henry Frederick Ponsonby, Witley, 17 October 1877
GE to the Hon. Mrs. Henry Frederick Ponsonby, London, 4 March 1879
GE to the Hon. Lady Ponsonby, London, 23 December 1879

From:
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Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby (1832-1916), Ponsonby, Mary Elizabeth (1832-1916), Social Network Gallery, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed November 11, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/97146