Lord Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore, was a member of the British parliament during the regency period. He was an avid horse rider, good with the sword, a womanizer, and a gambler. He had financial difficulties and he received a loan from loan sharks and he decided to marry a poor beauty who he met at a gin shop where she worked as a waitress. She lived in the poor neighbourhood of London and believed in witches and other superstitions. She was also the daughter of her mother's lover. After the marriage, gossip and jealousy started among the high society women of London, and it lasted for many years after the wedding.