Inheritance: The tragedy of Mary Davies: Property & madness in eighteenth-century London

by Leo Hollis

The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages and how the super-rich came to own London

‘Brilliant’ Financial Times

‘Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world’s greatest cities’ Dan Snow

The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages and how the super-rich came to own London

June 1701, and a young widow wakes in a Paris hotel to find a man in her bed. Within hours they are married. Yet three weeks later, the bride flees to London and swears that she had never agreed to the wedding. So begins one of the most intriguing stories of madness, tragic passion and the curse of inheritance.

Inheritance charts the forgotten life of Mary Davies and the fate of the land that she inherited as a baby – land that would become the squares, wide streets and elegant homes of Mayfair, Belgravia, Kensington and Pimlico. From child brides and mad heiresses to religious controversy and shady dealing, the drama culminated in a court case that determined not just the state of Mary’s legacy but the future of London itself.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Published July 13, 2021

Reviews

[Cidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2021 hardback copy has the very fetching pink and blueish cover and not the one pictured, I bought it after listening to the author giving a zoom talk.

Well the book turned out to be not quite what I expected, but interesting nevertheless! I thought I would be reading a book about the life of Mary Davies, who was born during the year of the plague in 1665 and was betrothed to be married when she was 7 and her husband to be was 10. Needless to say the marriage didn't take place, only because the groom's father couldn't afford her dowry and only wanted the two families to come together because he was after Mary's inheritance. She did marry later and had several children but was widowed whilst still young so she goes off on a european tour with her priest (from a catholic family which was still controversial at that time), and wakes up one morning to find a man in her bed and she was rapidly married. She was then hastily returned to London where her lawyers spent several years trying to extricate her from the supposed marriage. Their arguments were based on Mary being of unsound mind, the book speculates whether she was suffering from a breakdown, or breakdowns, or was bipolar. As this wasn't proved it is speculation.

The book revolves mainly around the properties Mary had inherited, in fact she owned most of Westminster and tons more land beyond that as well. This land was then sold off in sections and that's where the great squares of London were built with amazing grand houses surrounding them. It also goes on to give us a in depth round up of everything which revolves around land buying, property building, property selling, property owning, and this makes up most of the book. I only took an interest in this section because Mary was of the Grosvenor family and my family are Grosvenors too. We obviously got the short straw and dropped down to peasants! But I did learn that Grosvenor was actually Gros Venour, or great huntsman, and the family probably came over with William the conqueror, they are at least showing up in land records about half a century later, and a couple of centuries later they show up about 30 or so miles from where my Grosvenors were living! Bit of family history there folks!!

As for poor Mary? She vanished out of public sight and her eldest son became sole owner of all the estates and properties and land owned by Mary due to her unsound mind, yet letters found in the archives suggest that she appeared to be very much of sound mind. But she was a fallen woman in those times, and her children and family seemed to have had very little to do with her.

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an totally fascinating read that centres around a woman, Mary Davies, in the 17th century and her life. It really opened my eyes to the changing face of London at the time, and also how women were treated even if they had money.

She was born just before the Fire of London and the Great Plague so how's that for an introduction to the world! And because of these events the landscape of London was at the start of huge changes. She was born with an inheritance of land and we get to see how that shaped her life with her marriages, planned while she was very young, and how that impacted on her path in life as the men in her life took over despite her wealth.

There's tragedy too with the loss of some of her children, and also the impact of mental illness on her and how those around her took to that with the courts getting involved to decide her fate. The author has explored the times with great analysis and it has really opened my eyes to the events of the times and made me more aware of the historical and political events of the time. A fascinating historical read!

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I thought it would be about Mary Davies and a case that influenced the change in property laws. It was not. The majority of the book is about the development of the city of London and the role Mary's property played in that.

At one point the author writes about Mary: "The historical record does not tell us, s we can only speculate." That about sums up what we know about Mary aside from the actual court case.

The parts of the book that are actually about Mary could have been a long-form journal article. Ended up skimming looking for details about Mary's life.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting work - part deep dive into the history of how private real estate as a construct developed in London and how the city itself developed over time, part deep dive into the history of this one particular wealthy heiress and money matters for women in that period. All research based on what limited historical documents survived from that era, with a good pinch of conjecture thrown in for good measure. It got a bit dry at the very end but was actually a really engaging read for most of the entirety of the book.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story based on Mary Grosvenor, born in 1665, and the court case that determined the legality of Mary's second marriage. The story maps out the future of London involving street names and areas that are so familiar to us today. Rich in the history of politics, child brides and lunacy. Great book

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book , it covers so much about women in the 18th century. Mary Davies was rich, she had inherited from her father but was that ever hers? The book also covers the plight of people with mental illness. I learnt a lot and the events did not go the way I would have predicted. There is so much history and research that makes this book a very good read.