in Staffordshire, taking up residence for eight years to raise their growing family and host visitors. In 1819, seeking to be closer to the government in London, they rented Wherstead Park in Suffolk, living there until 1824. The Leveson-Gowers regularly attended large gatherings and parties at country houses. As Granville was gregarious and social, Harriet worked to be a great hostess; she was also a welcome guest when visiting others. Her letters reveal her amusement at those around her, particularly during the visits of dissimilar guests to Wherstead, where they hosted frequently. After one visit to Tixall Hall, Charles Greville – her normally hypercritical cousin – wrote that he could not "remember so agreeable a party", and described Harriet as possessing "a great deal of genius, humour, strong feelings, enthusiasm, delicacy, refinement, good taste, naïveté which just misses being affectation, and a bonhomie which extends to all around her". For his service in government, Granville was raised to the peerage and given a viscountcy in 1815. An earldom followed in 1833, whereupon he and his wife became known as Earl and Countess Granville. Ambassadress In February 1824, Granville moved to The Hague to begin his service as British ambassador to the Netherlands. Harriet, by now a thirty-nine-year-old mother of five, accompanied him along with their two daughters (their two youngest sons followed in April). Though she had not wished to leave her comfortable life in England, where she had been surrounded by friends and family, she did so to support her husband. After completing the first few days of official duties, Harriet devoted much of her time to domestic routine and being with her children. They only had a short period of time to get settled. In November, the Leveson-Gowers were again required to move upon Granville's appointment as ambassador to France. While Harriet had begun to acclimatise herself well to life in the Netherlands, where her social duties were more relaxed, she was less enthusiastic about the move to Paris. She dreaded the long hours and the superficiality of social life in France. Life in France The Leveson-Gowers moved into the Hôtel de Charost, a stately Parisian townhouse purchased for the British government ten years earlier to serve as its embassy. During the first year, their ability to entertain was limited due to the residence's disrepair. But after overseeing restoration work, the couple hosted large dinner parties, balls, and