Most book lovers have probably heard of Earl Grey tea, but did you know there is a lighter flavor called Lady Grey tea? Earl Grey tea was named after the English Earl Charles Grey, a British Prime Minister from 1830-1834. He was a leader who helped pass The Reform Act of 1832, and The Slavery Act of 1833, which helped abolish slavery in most of the United Kingdom. Earl Charles Grey was known as a tea fanatic or connoisseur, and his wife, Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey, was known for throwing TEA PARTIES, where she served his specially curated tea. They eventually started selling it in what is now known, worldwide, as Earl Grey tea.
But where, does Lady Grey tea come into this you might ask? Well, that is a more recent addition crafted by Twinings tea in the mid-1990s, as a lighter more robust addition to the trademarked Earl Grey tea selection for those who find the original Earl Grey a bit too strong.
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The Origins of Lady Grey Tea
The original recipe for Lady Grey tea is a black tea with Bergamot oil, Orange peel, and Lemon peel notes. Twinings is the only company legally allowed to use the name Lady Grey tea, as it is their trademarked name. However, several brands get around the trademark legality by calling it slightly different names. Twinings own house blends of the Lady Grey teas though, is my preferred afternoon tea.
According to the Twinings Tea Shop website, the origin story of Lady Grey tea is as follows:
“Although it’s hard to top an original, our continuous pursuit of a new and unique teas brought forth Lady Grey® tea- a softer, more elegant version of Earl Grey tea developed exclusively for Twinings.”
A few benefits of drinking Lady Earl Grey Tea versus Green Tea:
- The oil of bergamot has been shown to help reduce anxiety, improve mental health, and be good for digestion.
- It makes a great iced tea, even without sugar.
- Your immediate reaction upon tasting it is bursts of lovely flavor rolling one after another.
The Real Lady Grey: Who Was She?
Not much is known about Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey; not to be confused with an earlier Lady Mary Grey, who was born in 1545. If you were to search her name today, there is a brief article about her that mainly focuses on her husband and his accomplishments, but that gives very few details about the lady herself.
What we do know is that she was born March 4, 1776, in a little town in the northern part of England called Whitehaven, to Lord Ponsonby and Louisa Molesworth. In November 1794, at the age of 18, she met and married a man known then as Viscount Howick Charles Grey, later known as the Earl Charles Grey.
As Earl Charles Grey rose to power, Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey went on to have ten, yes ten, sons and six daughters. She also rose to power, as few women would have had the strength and courage to have sixteen children.
Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey was a political spouse, and as such was known for her wonderful tea parties. However, she was widowed in July 1845 and lived in London, England, until her death in November 1861, at age 85.
Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey: A Lady Shrouded In Mystery
You are probably wondering, where does this haunting history come into the story? Well. You just read it.
While Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey lived for 85 years, historical records reveal remarkably little about the woman herself. This absence of detailed information creates a haunting narrative that speaks to the broader themes of identity, legacy, and how history has often overlooked women’s lives.
This exploration into her life uncovered a haunting mystery despite Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey’s presumably rich life experiences, we know very few personal details about her—what she thought, felt, or aspired to. This gap in knowledge reflects a sad realization. If we don’t take the time to document the little moments, we will truly lose our history. Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey’s life story becomes emblematic of a larger lesson: the importance of seeking out and preserving the narratives of everyone, regardless of social status or gender.
Her story invites us to remember that every life has value. Even those who seem to exist in the shadows of history have untold stories worth exploring. By shining a light on Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey, we not only pay tribute to her memory but bring to light a strong woman we wish we knew more about. It is a powerful reminder: the legacies we leave behind are often what we choose to share—and those we choose to make time for.
Haunting Histories: Tales and Legends
Here are some good book recommendations with haunting histories that feature women almost forgotten.
The Progeny by Tosca Lee
New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee brings a modern twist to an ancient mystery surrounding the most notorious female serial killer of all time. A fast-paced thriller like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and BBC America’s hit series Orphan Black.
Emily Jacobs is the descendant of a serial killer. Now, she’s become the hunted.
She’s on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders—one determined to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she must ultimately save.
Filled with adrenaline, romance, and reversals, The Progeny is the present-day saga of a 400-year-old war between the uncanny descendants of “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a secret society dedicated to erasing every one of her descendants. It is a story about the search for self filled with centuries-old intrigues against the backdrop of atrocity and hope.
On Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, Bookbub.
Everything She Didn’t Say by Jane Kirkpatrick
In 1911, Carrie Strahorn wrote a memoir entitled Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, which shared some of the most exciting events of 25 years of traveling and shaping the American West with her husband, Robert Strahorn, a railroad promoter, investor, and writer. That is all fact. Everything She Didn’t Say imagines Carrie nearly ten years later as she decides to write down what was really on her mind during those adventurous nomadic years.
Certain that her husband will not read it, and in fact that it will only be found after her death, Carrie is finally willing to explore the lessons she learned along the way, including the danger a woman faces of losing herself within a relationship with a strong-willed man and the courage it takes to accept her own God-given worth apart from him. Carrie discovers that wealth doesn’t insulate a soul from pain and disappointment, family is essential, pioneering is a challenge, and western landscapes are both demanding and nourishing. Most of all, she discovers that home can be found, even in a rootless life.
With a deft hand, New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick draws out the emotions of living–the laughter and pain, the love and loss–to give readers a window not only into the past, but into their own conflicted hearts. Based on a true story.
On Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookbub.
A Lasting Impression by Tamara Alexander
To create something that will last is Claire Laurent’s most fervent desire as an artist. It’s also her greatest weakness. When her fraud of a father deals her an unexpected hand, Claire is forced to flee from New Orleans to Nashville, only a year after the War Between the States has ended. Claire’s path collides with that of Sutton Monroe, and she considers him a godsend for not turning her in to the authorities. But when they meet again and he refuses to come to her aid, she realizes she’s sorely misjudged the man. Trading an unwanted destiny for an unknown future, Claire finds herself in the middle of Nashville’s elite society and believes her dream of creating a lasting impression in the world of art may finally be within reach.
All that Sutton Monroe holds dear lies in ruin. He’s determined to reclaim his heritage and to make the men who murdered his father pay. But what he discovers on his quest for vengeance reveals a truth that may cost him more than he ever imagined.
Set at Nashville’s historic 1850s Belmont Mansion, a stunning antebellum manor built by Mrs. Adelicia Acklen, the richest woman in America in the 1860s, A Lasting Impression showcases the deep, poignant, unforgettable characters that set Tamera’s stories apart and provides an inspiring love story that will capture readers’ hearts and leave them eager for more.
On Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookbub.
The Gray Chamber by Grace Hitchcock
Will Edyth prove her sanity before it is too late?
On Blackwell Island, New York, a hospital was built to keep its patients from ever leaving.
With her late father’s fortune under her uncle’s care until her twenty-fifth birthday in the year 1887, Edyth Foster does not feel pressured to marry or to bow to society’s demands. She freely indulges in eccentric hobbies like fencing and riding her velocipede in her cycling costume about the city for all to see. Finding a loophole in the will, though, her uncle whisks Edyth off to the women’s lunatic asylum just weeks before her birthday. Do any of Edyth’s friends care that she disappeared?
At the asylum she meets another inmate, who upon discovering Edyth’s plight, confesses that she is Nellie Bly, an undercover journalist for The World. Will either woman find a way to leave the terrifying island and reclaim her true self?
The Blue Cloak by Shannon McNear – Read our Book Review of The Blue Cloak
Based on real events beginning in 1797 — Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror as the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity,” the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims. How many will die before peace can return to the frontier?
