Lady Cynthia Rosalie Postan ( Keppel; 25 June 1918 – 12 November 2017) was a British debutante, secretary for MI5, translator and editor, horticulturalist, and porcelain collector.

Early life

Cynthia Rosalie Keppel was born at

Daws Hill RAF Daws Hill was a Ministry of Defence site, located near High Wycombe and Flackwell Heath, in Buckinghamshire, England, close to the M40 motorway. The station was established in 1942 on land owned by Wycombe Abbey School, for use by the Uni ...

, in the grounds of

Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is an independent girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls schools in academic results. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847 ...

, on 25 June 1918, the fourth child of Walter Keppel, Viscount Bury, later the 9th

Earl of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of ''Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a ty ...

, and Lady Judith Sydney Myee Wynn-Carington, daughter of Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire. Her mother died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

when Cynthia was nine.Cynthia Postan.
''The Times'', 6 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017. She lived part of her childhood at her grandfather's house in Norfolk and was educated at a boarding school in

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

. She trained as a shorthand typist at Mrs Hoster's in

Brompton Road Brompton Road is a street located in the southern part from Knightsbridge and in the eastern part from Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and partly the City of Westminster in London. It starts from Knightsbridge Und ...

, London, and was presented to

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

as a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal " ...

in 1936. She was "finished" in Munich, Germany, in 1936.

Career

During the Second World War, Postan worked as a secretary for

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...

after she was introduced to its head, Sir

Vernon Kell Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a British Army general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Kn ...

, through family connections. She was initially stationed at

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

where operation XX was in progress. She later worked at

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

during which time

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

, later revealed to be a Soviet spy, took her to lunch. Transferred to London, Postan met her future husband, the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

economic historian

Michael Postan Sir Michael Moissey Postan FBA (24 September 189912 December 1981) was a British historian. He was also known as Munia Postan. Biography Postan was born to a Jewish family in Bendery, in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire, and stud ...

, who was head of the Russia section of the

Ministry of Economic Warfare The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive and the Ministry of Economic Warfare. See also * Blockade of Germany (193 ...

. They married in 1944 and had two sons together.

Horticulture

Postan became a noted horticulturalist associated with the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

and was a specialist in the

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

plant of which she edited a history. The '' Ceanothus Cynthia Postan'', a Californian

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

originally known as ''Ceanothus x regius'', now carries her name.

Collecting

She formed an important collection of French porcelain which was sold in 2015.''The Lady Cynthia Postan Collection of French and Other 18th Century Porcelain''
Pimpernel Press, 2015
Archived here.
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Death

Lady Postan died on 12 November 2017.

Selected publications

Edited

*''The Rhododendron Story: 200 Years of Plant Hunting and Garden Cultivation''. Royal Horticultural Society, 1996.

Translations

* Duby, Georges. (1968) ''Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West''. London: Edward Arnold. * Bairoch, Paul. (1975) ''The Economic Development of the Third World since 1900''. London: Methuen. * Duby, Georges. (1977) ''The Chivalrous Society''. University of California Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postan, Cynthia 1918 births 2017 deaths People from High Wycombe English translators English horticulturists English collectors Women collectors Daughters of British earls Wives of knights British debutantes Keppel family Book editors MI5 personnel 20th-century British scientists 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people 20th-century British women scientists