Template:Did you know nominations/Eliza Stephens

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by 97198 (talk) 11:12, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Eliza Stephens

• ... that while Eliza Stephens worked as governess for Mary Eleanor Bowes, she supported Andrew Robinson Stoney's schemes to seduce her employer? Source: Moore 2009, p. 111 [1] and other places
  • ALT1: ... that Eliza Planta succeeded her sister Elizabeth Planta as governess for the children of Mary Eleanor Bowes? Source: Moore 2009, pp. 103-107
  • ALT2: ... that Eliza Stephens, previously governess for the children of Mary Eleanor Bowes, emigrated to Russia to work for Catherine Shuvalova, Lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court of Russia? Source: previous and Solodyankina 2010: [2]
  • ALT3: ... that Eliza Stephens, an English governess, accompanied her employer Catherine Shuvalova to Germany to select Tsar Alexander I's bride? Source: Korff, p 69 "Наша Англичанка скоро умѣла привязать къ себѣ и мать, и доче- рей, и графиня Шувалова взяла ее съ собою въ извѣстное путешествие свое, окончившееся прибытіемъ къ вашему двору двухъ Баденскихъ принцессъ, изъ которыхъ одна сдѣлалась, потомъ, Императрицею Елисаветою Алексѣев-ною." ["Our Englishwoman [Stephens] soon knew how to bind the mother and daughters to her, and Countess Shuvalova took her with her on her famous journey, which ended with the arrival at your court of two Baden princesses, of whom one became, then, Empress Elisaveta Alexeievna".]
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Chabacano metro station
  • Comment: There are many juicy stories here but I lack the correct front-page reporter skills to exploit them. Help with more exciting hooks very welcome. The Stoney Bowes story is part of the plot of The Luck of Barry Lyndon, famously adapted as Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, but that leads a little bit away from Planta-Stephens. It might be worth saying that Mary Eleanor Bowes was a great-great-(...)-grandmother of King Charles III and the richest heiress in the country in the 1760s.

Moved to mainspace by Kusma (talk) and SusunW (talk). Nominated by Kusma (talk) at 09:14, 7 May 2023 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Eliza Stephens; consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.

• New enough, long enough. No neutrality problems found, no copyright problems found, no maintenance templates found. QPQ done. I propose the following hook: ALT4: ... that descendents of Eliza Stephens have married George VI and Ulysses S. Grant?--Launchballer 18:59, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

  @Launchballer: That isn't true and is not claimed in the article, though. —Kusma (talk) 20:39, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

My mistake. I think Bowes is the great-great-great-great-grandmother of the current King, might be worth suggesting a hook based on that.--Launchballer 20:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

The problem with that is that for DYK, we can't rely on information not in the article at hand, and while it is true that Mary Eleanor Bowes was the great-great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, I see no way to sneak that fact into the article. One of these days/months/decades, I might improve MEB to GA and then we could run that. Anyway, here is one more. Do you think any of these pass "interesting"? —Kusma (talk) 21:46, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

• ALT5: ... that Eliza Stephens eloped with her husband ten days after the first meeting, and later denied allegations that advertisements had been placed to find a husband for her? Source: Moore p. 115 "When the penniless chaplain eloped to Gretna Green with the young governess just ten days after their first meeting, the Planta family was understandably outraged — not least with Eliza’s mistress." p. 135 "Whether Stephens initially believed the child was his is unclear; he would later admit he had married Eliza only ten days after their first meeting although she would deny having placed an advertisement seeking a husband"

Yeah, I can approve that. Good to go.--Launchballer 11:12, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Thank you @Launchballer! Are you also approving ALT0 through ALT3 or is there something wrong with any of them? —Kusma (talk) 15:14, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

I would say that ALT0-2 rely on too much specialist knowledge to be interesting and to a lesser extent ALT3 does as well.--Launchballer 08:32, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

I expected "help someone to seduce your employer" to be enticing for enough people even if you don't know who the people involved are. Would it improve things if we involve the fortune teller? —Kusma (talk) 09:24, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

That's a good point. Alright, approved for ALT0 as well.--Launchballer 10:19, 24 June 2023 (UTC)