ABSTRACT
In 1862, Lady Hariot Hamilton married Lord Alfred Temple-Blackwood, Marquess of Dufferin and Ava.1 Lord Dufferin was an Irish landlord and active in Parliament until he became disillusioned with Gladstone’s liberalism; subsequently he sought non-political or diplomatic employment overseas which led to several posts abroad, the two most notable being Governor-General of Canada (1872-78) and Viceroy of India (1884-88). During both of these appointments his wife, a prolific letter writer, accompanied him. Lady Dufferin’s letters from India were written primarily to her mother, Catherine Anne Rowan Hamilton; they became the basis for the publications of her travels and were edited and published in two volumes under the title, Our Viceregal Life in India (1890).2
