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Charles Lewis Meryon (1783–1877)
Memoirs of the Lady Hester Stanhope. Vol. 2 of 2
London: H. Colburn, 1846
NYPL, The Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle

Lady Hester Stanhope (1776–1839) was famous in her lifetime as the woman who left London for the desert of present-day Lebanon, living with a freedom she was denied at home. She is seen in this frontispiece smoking a hookah and conversing with her confidant and doctor, Charles Meryon, whose Memoirs was instrumental in preserving her memory. On only a modest income, Lady Hester built a large compound and acted as doctor, astrologist, and hostess to travelers and the local population.