The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Edith Mary Gell (; 1860–1944) was a writer and Christian activist, also known as Edith Lyttleton Gell and Edith Brodrick Gell.

Family

Born in 1860, she was the fourth daughter of

William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton (6 January 1830 – 18 April 1907), was an Irish peer, landowner and Conservative politician in both Houses of Parliament, entering first the Commons for two years. Early life Midleton was born on 6 Januar ...

and Augusta, daughter of the 1st Baron Cottesloe. She was the sister of William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton (1856–1942), a distinguished politician who was Secretary of State for War from 1900–1903 and Secretary of State for India from 1903–1905. National Archives: ''Papers of the Gell family of Hopton''. Available at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/4868e279-9fb1-4d58-ac44-711dd382d98e#-1 She married Philip Lyttleton Gell (1852–1926) on 25 July 1889. The marriage was without offspring. She died on 17 April 1944.''Who Was Who'', 1941-1960, 1st ed. 1962, London: Adam & Charles Black, 4th ed., 1967, p. 427.

Reputation

Journalist Hazel Southam has compared Gell's activities with those of characters in the television series ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

''. Gell was very active in the local community and supported local families through

Mothers' Union The Mothers' Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its members are not all mothers or even all women, as there are many parents, men, widows, singles and grandparents involved in its work. Its main ai ...

. She also ran "a Sunday morning children’s service until shortly before her death in 1944". Gell is described in the National Archive entry for

Hopton Hall Hopton Hall is an 18th-century country house at Hopton, near Wirksworth, Derbyshire. It is a Grade II listed building. The Manor of Hopton, anciently the seat of the de Hopton family, was acquired by the Gell family in 1553 by Ralph Gell (1491� ...

as follows:

Social connections

Being of the aristocracy, Edith Gell was well-connected and she gives an entertaining account of the people she knew in her autobiography: ''Under Three Reigns''. When she was married, she was presented to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and describes her experience at court as follows: She and her husband were friends of the poet

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

and she gives the following account of him:

Publications

As listed in her ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' profile: * 1891 – ''The Cloud of Witness'' – a collection of quotations on a Christian theme. * 1892 – ''Squandered Girlhood'' * 1898 – ''The More Excellent Way'' * 1899 – ''The Vision of Righteousness'' * 1908 – ''The Forces of the Spirit'' * 1912 – ''The Menace of Secularism'' * 1914 – ''The Happy Warrior'' – a book with Biblical quotes for every day of the year * 1915 – ''Problems for Speakers'' * 1916 – ''The Empire’s Honour''; ''Influence of Women of the Early Church in Britain''; ''Conquering and to Conquer''; ''The Blessed Company''. * 1917 – ''Wedded Life''; ''The Churchwoman’s Vote'' * 1918 – ''The Empire’s Destiny'' * 1919 – ''The New Girl''; ''Womanhood and Fellowship''; ''The Resurrection of a Nation''; ''The Liberation of Spiritual Force''; ''Womanhood at the Crossroads'' * 1920 – ''The New Crusaders'' * 1921 – ''Our Mother Earth'' * 1922 – ''The Spirit of the Home'' * 1924 – ''Look Before You Leap'' * 1927 – ''Under Three Reigns: 1860-1920'' - her autobiography * 1929 – ''Heaven in Daily Life'' * 1930 – ''John Franklin’s Bride''; ''Ways and Signposts'' * 1931 – ''The Ideal of Stillness'' * 1932 – ''Live Gloriously'' * 1933 – ''Build'' * 1934 – ''Hopton Hymns'' * 1935 – ''Jubilee Musical Masque''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gell, Edith Mary 1860 births 1944 deaths 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British writers 20th-century British women writers British autobiographers Christian writers Daughters of viscounts Victorian women writers Victorian writers Women autobiographers British women hymnwriters British women activists