![[Header#^header-embed]] > [!SUMMARY] > After the death of her husband, [[Henry Thrale]], [[Hester Thrale née Salusbury|Hester Lynch Thrale]] received and declined several offers of marriage. ## Before marriage to Henry Thrale ### George Augustus Selwyn > [!INFO] > [George Augustus Selwyn (1719-1791)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Selwyn_(politician)) was a Whig politician and wit who served as a Member of Parliament for several constituencies between 1741 and 1796. He was also known for his gambling and his extravagant lifestyle. He was also a close friend of Hester Thrale. Wikipedia reports that he was a homosexual, and if so this may possibly have been known to Hester and been a factor in her refusal. He proposed marriage on 16 April 1773. Hester refused his proposal, but they remained friends. She knew him to be a gambler and a spendthrift, and she was not interested in marrying him. Her refusal of Selwyn's proposal is often seen as a sign of her independence and self-determination. She was not afraid to say no to a man who was considered to be a social catch, and she was not willing to marry someone who was not compatible with her. > [!QUOTE] [[Hester Thrale née Salusbury|Hester Thrale]] in [[Thraliana]] on 17 April 1773… > Selwyn proposed to me yesterday, which I refused. I am not surprised at his proposal, for he has long been attentive, but I do not love him, and I do not want to marry him. > [!QUOTE] [[Hester Thrale née Salusbury|Hester Thrale]] in her letter to [[Fanny Burney]] on 20 April 1773… > I must tell you that I have had a proposal, and from a very silly man, George Augustus Selwyn. I am not at all flattered by his proposal, and I have refused him. ## After Henry Thrale's death ### Baronet Sir Richard Musgrave In November 1782 [Baronet Sir Richard Musgrave of Tourin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Richard_Musgrave,_1st_Baronet,_of_Tourin), Irish MP for Lismore (1757-1818) proposed. ### Samuel Whitbread > [!INFO] > [Samuel Whitbread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Whitbread) was an English politician, brewer and philanthropist. He was born in Southill, Bedfordshire, England, in 1758. He was educated at Eton College and Cambridge University. He became a partner in the Whitbread brewery in 1780 and entered Parliament in 1790. He was a Whig and served as a Lord of the Admiralty in 1795–1800 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1806–1807. He was a strong supporter of the abolition of the slave trade and of parliamentary reform. He died in Southill in 1815. Samuel Whitbread proposed to Hester Thrale on 11 July 1782. She declined his proposal. > [!QUOTE] [[Hester Thrale née Salusbury|Hester]] wrote on 12 July 1782 … > Whitbread made me a long and most serious proposal yesterday, which I refused with a steadiness that surprised myself. I am not in love with him, I do not believe I should ever be happy with him, and I do not want to leave London and give up my independence [^2]. ### Mr. Swale > [!INFO] > Mr. Swale was a gentleman from a good family and fortune in Suffolk, England. > [!QUOTE] [[Hester Thrale née Salusbury|Hester]] wrote in [[Thraliana]] on 11 January 1782 … > Nothing happens that one expects, & every thing happens that one does **not**expect: here's a proposal of Marriage to me from a Man I scarcely know—a MrSwale of good Family & Fortune in Suffolk—very odd tho' of the Man to want to marry _me_ of all People—I sent him an immediate & steady Refusal. [[#William Seward (junior)|Seward]] & Selwin being both disposed to offer their Persons and Fortunes is less odd, tho' not less silly. > [!QUOTE] On 21 February 1784, Hester wrote to Swale[^1] as follows… > My Acquaintance with you was always the slightest possible, & it is now two Years since I have seen your Face; yet in these two Years I have received two Letters from you, the first, a very strange one, the second stranger still; I beg I may never have a Third: as I am surely of Age to act without a Monitor, and when I chuse one—it shall not be Mr. Swale. ## See also ![[hester-lynch-thrale-1741-1821🔎#^hester-lynch-thrale-infoblock]] #history/person/SALUSBURY/hester-lynch-born-1741 #history/person/SELWYN/george-augustus-died-1791 #history/person/SWALE #history/person/SEWARD-william-born-1747 ![[Footer#^footer-embed]] [^1]: In 1950, the note belonged to Mrs. Evans, of [[Brynbella]]. [^2]: Hester Thrale, Thraliana: Diary of a Bluestocking, edited by Katherine C. Balderston, Oxford University Press, 1942, p. 469.