Evelyn Florence Margaret Winifred Gardiner (27 September 1903 – 11 March 1994) was the youngest child of

Herbert Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere Herbert Colstoun Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere, (9 June 1846 – 6 May 1921) was a British Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until he was raised to the peerage in 1895. He served as President of the Board of Agricu ...

, and the first wife of

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 ...

. She was one of the

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

Early life

The Hon. Evelyn Florence Margaret Winifred Gardner was born on 27 September 1903 in

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 ...

. She was the youngest of four daughters born to

, and Lady Winifred Anne Henrietta Christiana (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Herbert) Byng. Her mother was the widow of Captain Alfred John George Byng (a son of

George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, PC (8 June 1806 – 29 October 1886), styled Viscount Enfield between 1847 and 1860, of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire) and of 5 St James's Square, London, was a British peer and Whig ...

) who died in 1887. Among her sisters was Alathea, who married

Sir Geoffrey Fry, 1st Baronet Sir Geoffrey Storrs Fry, 1st Baronet, (27 July 1888 – 1960) was private secretary to prime ministers Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin, and a member of the Fry family. Early life Geoffrey Storrs Fry was born on 27 July 1888. He was the younger s ...

, and Mary, who married

Geoffrey Hope-Morley, 2nd Baron Hollenden Geoffrey Hope-Morley, 2nd Baron Hollenden (28 January 1885 – 19 October 1977), was a British aristocrat who served as High Sheriff of the County of London. Early life He was the son of Samuel Hope Morley and Laura Marianne (née Birch) Morley ...

. Her paternal grandparents were

Alan Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner Alan Legge Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner (29 January 1810 – 2 November 1883), was a British Whig politician. Background Gardner was the son of Admiral Alan Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner. A viscountcy was to be conferred on his father in 1815, b ...

, and his second wife, the professional actress Juliah Sarah (née Fortescue). Her father was born two years before his parents' marriage and was consequently not allowed to succeed in the barony of Gardner on his father's death in 1883 but was himself raised to the peerage as Baron Burghclere, of Walden in the County of Essex, in 1895. Her maternal grandparents were

Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the C ...

, and Lady Evelyn Stanhope, a daughter of

George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield, PC (23 May 1805 – 1 June 1866), styled Lord Stanhope until 1815, was a British Tory politician, courtier and race horse owner. He served as Master of the Buckhounds under Lord Melbourne from 1834 to 1 ...

Bright Young Things

In the 1920s she was one of the

, a nickname given by the

tabloid press Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalism, sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even Fake news, blatantly false), which takes its name from the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid ne ...

to a group of

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s

, and lived alone with

Pansy Pakenham Lady Margaret Pansy Felicia Lamb, known as Lady Pansy Lamb (18 May 1904 – 19 February 1999) was an English writer under her maiden name of Pansy Pakenham. A novelist, biographer, and translator of French poetry, she was the wife of the Austral ...

(one of the four daughters of

Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford, KP, MVO (19 October 1864 – 21 August 1915), known as Lord Silchester until 1887, was an Irish peer and soldier. Biography Born in Dublin, Longford was the eldest son of William Pakenham, 4th Earl of Lo ...

). It was such an unusual arrangement that they were interviewed by

Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first wife was Bar ...

in the spring of 1927 for an article on modern girls. The two girls invited Alec to a party given in Portland Place by the Ranee of Sarawak, and he brought along his brother

. Before Waugh, Gardner had been engaged at least nine times, including to a soldier, a ship's purser, and a middle-aged divorcé.

Harold Acton Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in Ch ...

said she was "a fauness, with a little snub nose". Her closest friend,

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...

(daughter of the 2nd Baron Redesdale), said she was "a ravishing boy, a page".

Personal life

On 27 June 1928, at St Paul's in

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. ...

, Evelyn Gardner married Evelyn Waugh, against the wishes of her father, who felt that Waugh lacked moral fibre and kept unsuitable company. Harold Acton was the best man,

Robert Byron Robert Byron (26 February 1905 – 24 February 1941) was a British travel writer, best known for his travelogue ''The Road to Oxiana''. He was also a noted writer, art critic and historian. Biography He was the son of Eric Byron, a civil engi ...

, the writer and art critic, gave away the bride, and Alec Waugh and Pansy Pakenham were the witnesses. Among their friends, they quickly became known as "He-Evelyn" and "She-Evelyn".Stannard, Martin (2007). "Evelyn Arthur St John Waugh (1903–06)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition. Retrieved 30 October 2010. (subscription required) After only one year of marriage, she left Waugh for their mutual friend,

John Heygate Sir John Edward Nourse Heygate, 4th Baronet (19 April 1903 – 18 March 1976), was a Northern Irish journalist and novelist. He is chiefly remembered for his liaison in 1929 with Evelyn Gardner while she was married to Evelyn Waugh. He is portr ...

Second marriage

After the divorce from Waugh, of all their friends, only

Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell' ...

remained in contact with Evelyn Gardner, despite the fact that most of them had been Gardner's friends before Waugh. It has been suggested that the adultress Brenda Last in ''

A Handful of Dust ''A Handful of Dust'' is a novel by the British writer Evelyn Waugh. First published in 1934, it is often grouped with the author's early, satirical comic novels for which he became famous in the pre– World War II years. Commentators have, ...

'' (1934) is based upon Gardner. On 7 August 1930, Gardner married Heygate, a Northern Irish journalist and novelist. In 1936, this marriage also ended in divorce. Four years after their divorce, he succeeded to the title of 4th Baronet Heygate.

Third marriage

In May 1937, she married Ronald Nightingale (d. 1977), a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, later an estate agent. Together, they lived at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, had one son and one daughter, before separating: * William Benedict Herbert Nightingale (b. 1939), a drama critic who married the American novelist Anne Bryan Redmon in 1964. * Virginia Margaret Ann Nightingale (b. 1943), a landscape architect. Gardner died on 11 March 1994 in

Ticehurst Ticehurst is both a village and a large civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The parish lies in the upper reaches of both the Bewl stream before it enters Bewl Water and in the upper reaches of the River Rother flowi ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

and was buried in the graveyard of St Mary's Church, Ticehurst.

References

External links

*
Evelyn Florence Margaret Winifred Nightingale (née Gardner, formerly Waugh)
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Evelyn 1903 births 1994 deaths English socialites Daughters of barons People from Ticehurst