195:. Harrington must have been pleased by the meeting as, by 1750, Bridget Gunning had persuaded him to grant her a pension, which she then used to transport herself, Maria and Elizabeth back to their original home in Huntingdon, England. With their attendance at local balls and parties, the beauty of the two girls was much remarked upon. They became well-known celebrities, their fame reaching all the way to London. On 2 December 1750, they were presented at the court of St James, at which time they were sufficiently famous that the presentation was noted in the London newspapers. Maria, who was notoriously tactless, was reported to have made a notable gaffe by telling the elderly
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Kitty replied that she ... "would have to accept this insult because Maria was socially superior since marrying Lord
Coventry, but she was going to marry a Lord herself just to be able to answer back."
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to wealthy benefactors. However, other sources deny this and point out that
Margaret Woffington did not arrive in Dublin until May 1751, by which time Maria and her sister Elizabeth were in England.
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In late 1740 or early 1741, the
Gunning family returned to John Gunning's ancestral home in Ireland, where they divided their time between their home in Roscommon and a rented house in
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from the makeup she used, which was very stylish at the time. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, it was fashionable for women to
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Originally known simply as a beautiful but vain woman, Maria eventually became known in society circles as a "victim of cosmetics".
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that the spectacle she would most like to see was a royal funeral. Fortunately, the king was highly amused.
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Kitty Fisher answered she ..."had better ask Lord
Coventry as he had given her the dress as a gift."
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and became the
Countess of Coventry. Her husband became involved with the then-famous
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Maria's early death (at the age of 27) on 30 September 1760 was caused by
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53:; 15 August 1732 – 30 September 1760) was an Irish beauty and London
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She was rumoured to have been involved romantically with the
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271:(107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 929.
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The altercation continued with Lady
Coventry calling her
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for "the name of the dressmaker who had made her dress."
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27:18th-century English beauty and society hostess
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269:Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood
97:(1681–1741). Maria's younger siblings were
304:"Elle Shushan – Fine Portrait Miniatures"
202:Within a year, Elizabeth had married the
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292:Baytun History, Sir Andrew Baytun Rolt
372:"Maria Gunning, Countess of Coventry"
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128:Portrait of a pensive woman on a sofa
401:Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry
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167:In October 1748, a ball was held at
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193:Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
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410:Some Old Time Beauties
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403:at Wikimedia Commons
173:Viscountess Petersham
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208:6th Earl of Coventry
149:an impertinent woman
132:Jean-Étienne Liotard
57:during the reign of
222:3rd Duke of Grafton
456:Deaths from sepsis
441:English countesses
189:Earl of Harrington
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77:Maria was born in
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415:Project Gutenberg
399:Media related to
238:whiten their skin
160:Giustiniana Wynne
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425:Categories
251:References
118:courtesans
212:courtesan
197:George II
99:Elizabeth
65:Biography
377:17 April
332:(1895).
355:13 July
171:by the
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314:16 May
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185:Juliet
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228:Death
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