Famous Foleys of the Regency
Period
Famous Foley Antecedents...Strange
But True
It has often been said that writers and other artists tap into some
unseen realm from which their creations flow—the collective
unconscious, as Jung called it. The notion is that all of humanity’s
experiences are stored “somewhere,” whether in another
dimension or in our DNA, and that this vast reservoir of human experience
can be mysteriously accessed through flashes of insight or, more
deliberately, through a deep meditative thought process similar
to the artist’s trance. I have had enough firsthand experiences
of this strange synchronicity to convince me that the phenomenon
is real (though I have no idea how it works). Weird little coincidences
having to do with my writing are always happening to me.
Here is one trivial example. In I gave Jack a pet bullterrier, and next thing
I know, out of all the hundreds of dog breeds on earth, a bullterrier
wins the Westminster Dog Show.
A more somber example would be the terrorist attack of 9/11 happening
right after I finished writing in which the villain is a secret operative who is
plotting to blow up London’s Westminster Hall (where Parliament
meets). Flight 93, the plane that was supposed to have blown up
the Capitol building (where the U.S. Congress meets), went down
in a field about an hour away from my house. There have been many
others examples. With every one of my books, I’ve experienced
strange parallels with events, large and small, unfolding in the
outer world. What does it mean? Who knows? Some people say there
is no such thing as coincidence. Whatever you believe, I think you
will agree that the series of discoveries I made while researching
indeed,
‘stranger than fiction.’
In preparing to write I filled out my usual character charts, designing my
protagonists as follows: Lord Alec Knight is an aristocratic rakehell
who had previously ruined himself at the gambling tables, and Miss
Becky Ward, our heroine, is the daughter of a Navy officer who had
fought alongside Horatio Nelson. One detail that I brainstormed
about Becky was that she was born in the middle of a battle at sea.
This would help establish her ‘tough chick’ temperament.
(She was going to need to be tough and disciplined in order to rein
in decadent playboy Alec.)
Note her last name, Ward. This was a play on words (which I don’t
usually do with names,) because throughout the story, she has to
be under Alec’s protection, as if he were her guardian and
she was his “ward,” not to mention she’s the legal
ward of the villain. I didn’t really want to call her that,
but it just felt right. Also note that this story was to be set
in 1817 as the whole Knight series unfolded, one book following
another, going pretty much year-by-year in the Regency. Anyway,
after filling out my character profiles for Alec and Becky, I undertook
some extra research to make sure it would all hold together. I needed
a specific sea-battle during which Becky could’ve been born.
It had to take place in 1797 or so because I wanted her to be about
twenty years old. I also needed specific examples of gambling aristocrats
of the Regency period and the actual sums they had lost and how
they paid off the debts.
When I started my research, I soon got more than I bargained for.
What I unearthed amazed me. Certainly, it hit home, to say the least.
In seeking the answers to both of my questions, I discovered not
one but two famous Foleys of the Regency period, right in line with
both of my characters.
The first was Captain Thomas Foley (later Admiral Sir Thomas Foley)
who commanded the HMS Goliath during the Battle of the Nile, year
1798. (I could also point out that in my first book, in which ships and sailors play an obvious
role, there’s a nasty brutish pirate called Goliath who causes
problems for the heroine—but let’s just chalk that one
up to coincidence, too. *g*)
Apparently there is also a little known legend about the brash Captain
Foley’s role in getting the battle started. It may all be
a lot of Irish malarkey, but it’s worth retelling just for
the fun of it, if for nothing else (and if I learn later whether
or not this is really true, I’ll let you know!)
The story goes like this. After weeks of cat-and-mouse searching
for the French fleet throughout the Mediterranean, the British finally
found them anchored in the Bay of Aboukir, off the coast of North
Africa. The Brits couldn’t have gotten any luckier, because
not only did they have the French cornered in a bay, with nowhere
for them to escape, but also, the French vessels were caught by
surprise. They were sitting ducks, riding at anchor.
The great Horatio Nelson, however, in command of the operation,
had lost the use of one eye some time before this battle, and this
had affected his depth perception. Legend has it that Lord Nelson
did not want to press the attack because night was coming and he
did not think they were in range. (Nobody wanted to fight in the
dark.) Captain Foley, however, with unfettered eyesight, was able
to see that in fact they were perfectly positioned to win. In what
has been called “the greatest act of insubordination in the
annals of the British Navy,” Captain Foley ignored Nelson’s
orders and sailed in to attack the foe. The others followed, and
as result, Napoleon’s fleet was destroyed.
Considering that my dad is a Foley who served in the U.S. Navy,
the possibility of having such a colorful ancestor left me grinning,
as you may well imagine. I don’t know if the bold Captain
Foley is our blood ancestor or not, but if he is, and the tale of
his grand act of insubordination is true, it would certainly explain
a lot. *g*
In any case, with this bit of research of complete, I gave my character
Becky Ward the middle name of Aboukir, and moved on to review aristocratic
Regency gamblers who had ruined themselves at the tables.
Lo and behold, a second famous Regency-era Foley popped up: Lord
Foley, Baron of Kidderminster, had a grandson who bankrupted the
family with his gambling in 1814, only three years before my story
was to take place. Hello!
The coincidences continued when I looked at how Lord Foley handled
the debt. The poor old fellow was forced to sell Witley Court, the
beautiful family estate in Worcestershire, as well as Foley House
in London. (Who knew?) Small world—the buyer for both properties
was John
Nash, the famous architect to the Regent.
Nash intended to refurbish both properties in his own much sought-after
style. His eventual buyer for Witley Court, Lord Foley’s country
estate, was the first earl of Dudley, family surname: Ward.
Folks, I didn’t plan that! I didn’t even know any of
this until I looked it up. Now you may be thinking, well, gee, this
is all beginning to sound a little weird. But you haven’t
heard the best part.
So, Witley Court went to the Ward family. When I looked into the
fate of Foley House in London, further searching revealed that it
was sold to another aristocrat, and is today the headquarters of
the BBC. But in the course of learning about this, I found something
else. Something that nearly made me fall off my chair.
Lord Foley was cousin to Edward Harley, the Earl of Oxford.
Lady Oxford, as you may recall from previous discussions, is the
model I used for Georgiana, the scandalous Duchess of Hawkscliffe!
In short, I myself may be a distant relative of the very woman who
inspired the whole Knight family series in the first place.
I have heard of writers finding out about an interesting ancestor
and then writing a book about them, but I think this may be the
first case of an author writing a series of novels, only to discover
after completing the last book, that she may have been writing about
one of her own ancestors all along…and that, dear reader,
is one to file under Strange But True.
Check out these links pertaining to the above article:
An article on the Battle of the Nile, including a diagram of the
ships’ movements, with Captain Foley’s role in the victory,
commanding the Goliath (great Napoleonic website associated with
the Discovery Channel):
http://www.exn.ca/napoleon/battle.cfm
And another excellent website, describing the battle in a bit more
detail:
http://www.nelsonsnavy.co.uk/broadside1.html
Fantastic panoramic pictures of Witley Court, the Foley/Ward family
estate in Worcestershire. Take a look—you’ll feel like
you’re standing there. Note that much of the house was destroyed
by a fire in 1937:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/features/360/worcester/
witley_index.shtml
History and still pictures of Witley Court at the official English
Heritage website:
http://www.ukattraction.com/a_print/print_entries_frames.php?&e=247AGT&a=0
Another quick write-up about Witley Court:
http://www.ukattraction.com/heart-of-england/witley-court.htm
The fate of Foley House in London, the gambling grandson, and the
family connection between Lord Foley and the Earl of Oxford, as
told by Mike Todd of the BBC:
page one - http://www.miketodd.net/other/bhhistory/bh_1214.htm
page two - http://www.miketodd.net/other/bhhistory/bh_1755.htm
page three - http://www.miketodd.net/other/bhhistory/bh_1811.htm
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