Caroline was born the only daughter of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough. Her mother, Henrietta, was the younger sister of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The two sisters remained close throughout their lives, and their children grew up in close proximity to one another. As a consequence, Caroline developed close friendships with the future 6th Duke of Devonshire and his sisters.
In 1805, she married William Lamb (1779 - 1848), the younger son of the Viscount Melbourne, who became heir following the early death of his elder brother in January of the same year. The 6th Duke adored Caroline and was 'heartbroken' when she married Lamb. He remained a loyal friend throughout her turbulent life.
Caroline's marriage to William was advantageous, believed to have been encouraged by his social-climbing mother, but was also a love match, and the couple were devoted to each other. However, their marriage was not without its sadness. Their first child, a daughter, was stillborn in 1806, and another daughter would die within 24 hours of birth. One child did survive infancy, George Augustus Frederick, born in 1807; he had severe mental difficulties from birth. Unusually for the standards of the age, the couple chose to care for their son at home, but the stress of his ill health and of William’s growing political ambitions drove them increasingly apart.
Caroline met Lord Byron in 1812, and while she initially rejected his advances, giving him his epitaph 'mad, bad, and dangerous to know', after reading Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, she sent him an anonymous fan letter.
Within weeks, they had begun a short but passionate affair, which the poet ultimately ended with a curt letter – now lost – sent in an envelope bearing the coronet of his new lover, Lady Oxford. Caroline struggled with his rejection, and she became increasingly and publicly obsessed with him. Her behaviour ostracised her contemporaries, whilst Byron emerged from the affair comparatively untarnished.
Caroline had always written prose and poetry for her own amusement, and Byron’s rejection fuelled her desire to write and heavily influenced her literary works.
She took her revenge by fictionalising him as the villainous Glenarvon in her bestselling Gothic novel of the same name. Published in 1816, shortly after Byron left England for exile, the novel was published anonymously, though her authorship was an open secret. The work features thinly veiled character portraits of both her and Byron, as well as other prominent members of society. It is thought that the rejection letter the male protagonist sends to the heroine is based on Byron's letter and another of his parting notes to Lady Caroline.
The novel’s publication served to further alienate Caroline from society, though it was a financial success and sold several editions. She continued to publish, writing three further novels, several poems, songs, and even parodies of Byron’s own works.
Despite his wife’s public infidelity and unpopularity, William kept faith with Caroline for many years, and refused to separate from her. They did eventually separate in 1825 at Caroline’s own request.
She suffered increasingly from mental health struggles, exacerbated by the use of laudanum and alcohol. She died at only 42 years old, with her husband William by her side.
Devonshire Collections
Preserved in the Devonshire Collections is a Mourning Book for Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (date unknown) by Lady Caroline Lamb.
This volume was created to commemorate Duchess Georgiana after her death. It contains poems by or addressed to her with illustrations by Lady Caroline.
It also contains the unfinished draft of a novel by Lamb. Gothic and melodramatic in nature, the novel features a Byronic figure called Lord Belfont.
Mounted on the front is Georgiana's monogram, encased with ribbon, seed pearls, and a lock of Georgiana's hair.
Main image: Portrait of Lady Caroline Lamb (1785–1828), Thomas Philips (1770–1845), 1813, oil on canvas
Above: Mourning Book for Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Lady Caroline Lamb, date unknown.
