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Darwin writes to Lady Dorothy Nevill to thank her for sending samples of orchids and other rare flowers from her hothouse. A well-known writer, hostess, horticulturalist and a subject of scandal when, in 1847, she was caught in a summerhouse with George Smythe MP, Nevill already possessed a public profile when she corresponded with Darwin. She was referenced by name in an 1862 publication on the fertilisation of orchids, albeit for her collection rather than an  intellectual contribution.