[3][4] When Mary was young, her parents moved the family to London, and she attended a school taught by a French refugee, Mademoiselle Puelle.

Mary came into close contact with the Court when she was sent to live with her aunt, Lady Stanley, who was childless[5] – the intention being that she would eventually become a Maid of Honour.

[7] Mary's hopes to become a lady in waiting were dashed by Queen Anne's death in 1714, which led to a change in power, and a Hanoverian on the throne, supported by the Whigs.

Widows, unlike unmarried women, were able to move freely in society, and for the first time in her life, Mrs Pendarves was able to pursue her own interests without the oversight of any man.

[6] Mrs Pendarves was a very perceptive woman, "She judged everything and everybody for herself; and, while ridiculing all empty-headed or vain insipidity, whether fashionable or eccentric, was always ready to applaud the unusual, if sincere and worthy.

She was eager in the acquisition of knowledge of all kinds to the end of her life..."[10] Because she had no home of her own, after her first husband's death Mrs Pendarves spent time living with various relatives and friends.

A wealthy friend, the Duchess of Portland, included Mary in her artistic and scientific "Hive" where she met Joseph Banks, the botanist, and she visited his home to see samples and drawings from his travels with Captain Cook.

In Ireland, Mrs Pendarves made the acquaintance of Dr Patrick Delany, an Irish clergyman who was already married to a rich widow, Margaret Tenison.

[14] As a widow, Mary Delany spent even more of her time at Bulstrode, the home of her close friend, Margaret Bentinck, Dowager Duchess of Portland.

Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora Delanica were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port.

Mrs. Delany had become familiar with Queen Charlotte while living in the house at Windsor, becoming an important part of the inner circle of the court,[6] teaching the young children about plants and sewing skills.

"[23] By the 1780s, Mary had also become well acquainted with Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) whom she frequently visited at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment.

[24][25] Mary had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed.

Her own clothes were embroidered richly, including a ballgown probably designed for the birthday of Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1751 with pinks, lily of the valley, winter jasmine, scent peas, love-in-a-mist, anemones, tulips, bluebells and forget-me-nots in accurate anatomical detail.

In the 1980s, Irish fashion designer Sybil Connolly created a range of tableware for Tiffany & Co. inspired by Mrs Delany's floral collages.