Dame Edith Sophy Lyttelton (''née'' Balfour; 4 April 1865 – 2 September 1948) was a British novelist, playwright,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-era activist and

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...

Biography

Lyttelton was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, the eldest daughter of Archibald Balfour, a London businessman and merchant in the Russian Empire, and Sophia "Sophy" Weguelin, daughter of MP

Thomas Matthias Weguelin Thomas Matthias Weguelin (5 May 1809 – 5 April 1885) was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1857 and 1880. Life Weguelin was the son of William A Weguelin of Weymouth Street, Portland Place, London, who ...

. Edith was educated privately and moved in the aristocratic circle of friends known as "

the Souls The Souls was a small loosely-knit but distinctive elite social and intellectual group in the United Kingdom from 1885 to the turn of the century. Many of the most distinguished British politicians and intellectuals of the time were members. Th ...

", which included

A. J. Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the L ...

, George Curzon,

Margot Tennant Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 189 ...

(later Asquith), and

Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports ...

, whom she married. Together they had two surviving children, including

Oliver Lyttelton Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts. Background, ed ...

(later 1st

Viscount Chandos Viscount Chandos, of Aldershot in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and held by a branch of the Lyttelton family. It was created in 1954 for the businessman and public servant Oliver Lyttelton. He was t ...

Activism

During their visit to South Africa in 1900, Lyttelton developed a high regard for

Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From D ...

, and helped establish the

Victoria League The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisatio ...

in 1901 with

Violet Markham Violet Rosa Markham (October 1872 – 2 February 1959) was a writer, social reformer, campaigner against women's suffrage and administrator. She grew up near Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Actively involved in community and welfare work, she held ...

and Violet Cecil to promote the imperial vision advocated by Milner. The League brought together high-ranking women from different sides of the political divide on the common ground of the empire. She served as its Honorary Secretary and also supported the Women's Tariff Reform Association. Lyttelton served on the Executive of the National Union of Women Workers (founded in 1895) and as Chairwoman of the Personal Service Association (founded in 1908, to alleviate distress caused by unemployment in London). At the outbreak of World War I she was a founder of the War Refugees Committee. She was later made Deputy Director of the Women's Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture in 1917, served on the Central Committee of Women's Employment from 1916–1925, and as Vice-Chairman of the Waste Reclamation Trade Board from 1924–1931. She was also the British substitute delegate in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1923, 1926–1928, and 1931.

Spiritualism

After the death of her husband in 1913, she became interested in

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

and was a member, and President from 1933 to 1934, of the council of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

. Spiritualism heavily influenced her works, ''The Faculty of Communion'' (1925), ''Our Superconscious Mind'' (1931), and ''Some Cases of Prediction'' (1937), as well her biography of Florence Upton (1926).

Writings

Lyttelton wrote a novel, ''The Sinclair Family'' (1926), an account of her travels in the Far East and India, ''Travelling Days'' (1933), and published a biography of her former husband in March 1917. Among her seven plays, two were inspired by her campaign against sweated labour, ''Warp and Woof'' and ''The Thumbscrew''. She also translated

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

's ''Les deux pierrots''. She was encouraged by her close friendship with

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. After 1918 she also lobbied for the foundation of a national theatre in London and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre.

Honours

In August 1917, Lyttelton was among the first group of people honoured following the creation of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

, when she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order (DBE) for her work with refugees. She and was named Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 1929 New Year Honours, for public services.

Personal life

Balfour married into the Lyttelton family as the second wife of the Hon.

, the eighth son of the fourth Lord Lyttelton. They married at

Bordighera Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...

on the Italian Riviera on 18 April 1892, six years after the death of his first wife, Octavia Laura Tennant (daughter of Sir Charles Tennant), who had died after only a year of marriage. They had three children: *

Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts. Background, ed ...

(15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) *Mary Frances Lyttelton (1 July 1895 – 24 October 1982), married in 1928 Sir George Craik, 2nd Baronet *Anthony George Lyttelton (3 June 1900 – 17 December 1901) Her husband died in 1913. Lyttelton died in September 1948 at her home in Westminster, age 83.

References

External links

The Papers of Alfred Lyttleton, Edith Lyttleton and Oliver Lyttleton
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

, Cambridge * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttelton, Edith 1865 births 1948 deaths 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British translators 20th-century travel writers British activists British spiritualists British women travel writers British travel writers British women in World War I British women novelists

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire

Place of death missing Parapsychologists Wives of younger sons of peers