ABSTRACT
Georgina cared nothing for politics, she liked to say in private, except in so far as they occupied her husband. For all that, she was a natural partisan, while he was too independent and critical to be a good party man in church or state. She transmitted her ardently High Church and Tory sympathies to their children, but never allowed her own views to affect a total commitment to their father. She brought up her sons and daughters-a precocious brood-with good humour and good sense; their family circle was remarkable for the freedom of speech and enquiry enjoyed by its younger members. Her influence with Robert was exerted wholly in support of his thinking: she did not try to shape it. He had complete confidence in her, and talked to her
with a lack of reserve not shown to anyone else; that is clear from their surviving correspondence. The change she worked in him is apparent from the circumstances of their union and early married life. The resolution and stamina he discovered with her at his side became permanent features of his character.2
