Celebrity Genealogy      Research - My Family

Lady Augusta Bruce & Her Brilliant Friend: Mary Elizabeth Clarke Mohl (“Clarkey”)

Earlier, I wrote about my cousin, Lady Augusta Frederica Elizabeth Bruce, and her fascinating circle of friends in 19th-century Paris — most notably Mary Elizabeth Clarke Mohl, affectionately known as “Clarkey.”

What intrigued me most was how my cousin engaged in deep discussions with some of the brightest minds of the Victorian era — Florence Nightingale, George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, a close friend of Charlotte Brontë), and others. Their lively exchanges inspired me to learn more about this remarkable woman, Clarkey, who, while not a blood relative, certainly adds sparkle to my family’s history.

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The Early Life of Mary Elizabeth Clarke (Mohl)

Mary Elizabeth Clarke was born in 1793 in England. Due to her mother’s poor health and dislike of the English climate, the family relocated to Paris, France, in 1801. Mary was educated at a convent in southern France and returned to Paris in 1813, where she spent nearly her entire life—rarely staying more than a few months at a time in England.

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“Clarkey” — The Woman Who Knew Everyone

According to a biography on Sue Young Histories, Mary Clarke Mohl, or “Clarkey,” was truly at the center of Parisian intellectual life. Her network included an astonishing list of cultural and literary giants:

Robert Browning, Lord Byron, Margaret Fuller, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Harriet Martineau, Stendhal, Francois Guizot, Barbara Bodichon, and of course, Florence Nightingale.

Mary married Julius von Mohl, a noted German orientalist, making her the sister-in-law of Hugo von Mohl and Robert von Mohl.

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The Legendary Paris Salon of Mary Clarke Mohl

In Florence Nightingale, 1820–1910 by Cecil Woodham-Smith (1951), Mary Clarke is described as a woman who—without money, beauty, or influence—became a leading figure in Paris’s political and literary world.

She hosted one of the most influential Parisian salons of the 19th century at 120 Rue du Bac, where cabinet ministers, dukes, English peers, bishops, and celebrated writers gathered every Friday night. Her intelligence, wit, and unorthodox charm revived the art of the salon, making her drawing room a hub of lively debate and intellectual exchange.

Despite her small stature and eccentric style—her curls famously compared by Guizot to those of his Yorkshire terrier—Mary captivated everyone she met. Her unique blend of French wit and English originality made her beloved among artists, scholars, and politicians alike.

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A Life Devoted to Ideas and Friendship

Mary Clarke’s early salons in the Rue Bonaparte and the Abbaye-aux-Bois drew the young thinkers of her age—Jean-Jacques Ampère, Louis Adolphe Thiers, and others. Later, through her friendship with Madame Récamier and Chateaubriand, she gained entry into the elite literary circles of Paris.

After her mother’s death, Mary married Julius von Mohl in 1847, at the age of 54. Together, they continued to host salons until after the Franco-Prussian War. Mary also edited her husband’s and her late friend Claude Fauriel’s scholarly manuscripts, maintaining her role as a respected intellectual well into old age.

Even in her nineties, friends like Ernest Renan remarked on her sparkling wit and unflagging energy. Mary Clarke Mohl passed away on May 15, 1883, at the age of 90.

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A Legacy of Friendship and Intellect

Reading about Clarkey gives me a deeper appreciation for my cousin Lady Augusta Bruce’s choice in friends. Surrounded by brilliant, independent women like Mary Clarke Mohl and Florence Nightingale, Lady Augusta clearly shared their passion for ideas and reform.

It’s a trait I like to think runs in the family—a love of conversation, curiosity, and meaningful friendship.