Thread by @EJBrand

A moment, please, for Mary Edwards 👑

In 1734 she was so pissed off about her husband wasting her fortune that she destroyed all evidence of the marriage & publicly declared their son to be illegitimate – by embracing disgrace she regained control of her whopping inheritance

Here is the family – and dog – in 1733, also painted by her friend William Hogarth.

For the benefit of this extraordinary story it is also worth noting that her husband was called ANNE – a rather cringey attempt by his parents to court the favour of Queen Anne 👶

First of all, CHECK OUT THE JEWELS on this woman

Eight years after abandoning the marriage, she clearly had no regrets 💎

Mary was also not shy of shows of female strength 💪💅
The scroll at her side quotes Queen Elizabeth I to troops at Tilbury:

Remember Englishmen, the Laws, the Rights
The generous Plan of Power deliver’d down
From age to age by your renown’d Forefathers …

And of course, like any woman of taste, she requested that she be immortalised in paint with her books & her dog 🐾📚

Hats off to you Mary, HATS OFF TO YOU