The Hon. Daphne Winifred Louise Fielding (''née'' Vivian, formerly Thynne; 11 July 1904 – 5 December 1997) was a British author in the 20th century.

Early life

Daphne Vivian was born on 11 July 1904 in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the elder child of

George Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian George Crespigny Brabazon Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian (21 January 1878 – 28 December 1940) was a British soldier from the Vivian family who served with distinction in both the Second Anglo-Boer War and World War I. Early life He was born at Con ...

, and Barbara Cicely (''née'' Fanning). Her younger brother was

Anthony Vivian, 5th Baron Vivian Anthony Crespigny Claude Vivian, 5th Baron Vivian (4 March 1906 – 24 June 1991) was a British impresario- restaurateur from the Vivian family who came to public notice in 1954 when he was shot in the abdomen by Mavis Wheeler (née Mabel Winifred ...

. Her parents separated when she was four years old and her father raised the children at

Glynn, Cornwall Glynn House is a Grade II* listed country estate near Cardinham in the county of Cornwall. It was once the seat of the Glynn family and later the seat of Sir Hussey Vivian. History There has been a property in this location next to the River Fo ...

, where the family were known as the 'mad Vivians'. He remarried in 1911 to Nancy Lycett Green (a daughter of Sir Edward Green, 2nd Baronet), with whom he had two more children. Her paternal grandparents were

Hussey Vivian, 3rd Baron Vivian Hussey Crespigny Vivian, 3rd Baron Vivian, (19 June 1834 – 21 October 1893) was a British diplomat from the Vivian family. Background Born at Connaught Place, London, Vivian was the eldest son of Charles Vivian, 2nd Baron Vivian, and was ed ...

and the former Louisa Alicia Duff (sister of George William Duff-Assheton-Smith of

Vaynol Vaynol or ''Y Faenol'' ( Welsh ) is a country estate dating from the Tudor period near Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, North Wales (). It has of park, farmland, and gardens, with more than thirty listed buildings, surrounded by a wall which is long ...

, and only daughter of Robert George Duff, of Wellington Lodge,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

). Her maternal grandparents were William Atmar Fanning and the former Winifred ( de Bathe) McCalmont (the widow of

Harry McCalmont Colonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont, CB (30 May 1861 – 8 December 1902) was a British army officer, race-horse owner, yachtsman and Conservative party politician. Life He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated ...

who was a younger daughter of

Sir Henry de Bathe, 4th Baronet General Sir Henry Percival de Bathe, 4th Baronet, KCB (19 June 1823 – 5 January 1907) was a British Army officer who achieved high office in the 1870s. Early life Bathe was born in Valletta, Malta in 1823, the son of Sir William Plunkett de Ba ...

).Peter W. Hammond, editor, ''The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda'' (Stroud,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 1998), page 72.

Career

She moved in the world of the "Bright Young Things" in the 1920s and produced a series of popular books about

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

. Of Fielding's memoirs, ''Mercury Presides'',

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

wrote: "Daphne has written her memoirs. Contrary to what one would have expected they are marred by discretion and good taste. The childhood part is admirable. The adult part is rather as though

Lord Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and ...

were to write his life and omit to mention that he ever served in the army."

Personal life

On 27 October 1927 she married Henry Thynne, Viscount Weymouth, who became the 6th

Marquess of Bath Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles Baron Thynne, of Warminster in the County of Wiltshire, and Viscount Weymouth ...

in 1946. Neither his nor her parents approved of the marriage, and they were divorced in 1953. From 1946, she was known as the Marchioness of Bath. The couple had five children: * Lady Caroline Jane Thynne (1928–1995); married

David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort David Robert Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort GCC (23 February 1928 – 16 August 2017), known as David Somerset until 1984, was an English peer and major landowner. An important figure in the world of fox hunting, he was also chairman of Marlb ...

. * The Honourable Thomas Timothy Thynne (1929–1930); died in infancy. * Alexander George Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (1932–2020); married Anna Gyarmathy. * Lord Christopher John Thynne (1934–2017); married Antonia Palmer, daughter of Sir Anthony Palmer, 4th Baronet. * Lord Valentine Charles Thynne (1937–1979); married, first, Veronica Jacks and had issue. He married, secondly, Susanne Alder; and, thirdly, Liese Dennis. After her divorce, her first husband married Virginia Penelope ( Parsons) Tennant (following her divorce from

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

). Daphne remarried to Major Alexander Wallace Fielding, son of Alexander Lumsden Wallace, of Kirkcaldy, on 11 July 1953. The couple divorced in 1978. Fielding died on 5 December 1997.

Works

* ''Longleat from 1566 to the present time''. Longleat Estate (1949) * ''Before the Sunset Fades''. Longleat Estate (1951) * ''Mercury Presides''. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode (1954) * ''The Adonis Garden'' (1961) * ''The Duchess of Jermyn Street:

Rosa Lewis Rosa Lewis (''née'' Ovenden; 1867–1952) was an English cook and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St. James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly p ...

''. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode (1964) * ''

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

and Nancy: Lady Cunard and Her Daughter''. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode (1968) * ''The Nearest Way Home''. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode (1970) * ''The Rainbow Picnic: a portrait of

Iris Tree Iris Tree (27 January 1897 – 13 April 1968) was an English poet, actress and artists' model, described as a bohemian, an eccentric, a wit and an adventurer. Biography Tree's parents were actors Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Helen Maud, Lady T ...

''. London: Eyre Methuen (1974) * ''Face on the Sphinx: a portrait of Gladys Marie Deacon, Duchess of Marlborough''. London: Hamish Hamilton (1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, Daphne 1904 births 1997 deaths British non-fiction writers Bath English women poets Daughters of barons Place of birth missing Place of death missing 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English poets 20th-century non-fiction writers