Lady Blanche Addle was a fictitious character created by the British author Mary Dunn (1900–1958) First published in the 1930s Dunn's Lady Addle books amusingly

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

and satirise the then British upper classes, and particularly the works of

Walburga, Lady Paget Walburga Ehrengarde Helena, Lady Paget (''née'' von Hohenthal; 3 May 1839 – 11 October 1929) was a German diarist, writer and an intimate friend of Queen Victoria. Biography Countess Walburga Ehrengarde Helena von Hohenthal was born in 1839 ...

;

Daisy, Princess of Pless Daisy, Princess of Pless (Mary Theresa Olivia; ''née'' Cornwallis-West; 28 June 1873 – 29 June 1943) was a noted society beauty in the Edwardian period, and during her marriage a member of one of the wealthiest European noble families. Daisy an ...

and

Adeline, Countess of Cardigan and Lancastre Adeline Louisa Maria, Countess of Cardigan and Lancastre (24 December 1824 – 25 May 1915) was the second wife of the English peer James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, and later the wife of the Portuguese nobleman Don António Manuel de Salda ...

. It could also have mentioned

Lady Sybil Grant Lady Sybil Myra Caroline Grant ( Primrose; 18 September 1879 – 25 February 1955) was a British writer and artist. She was the eldest child of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and his wife, Hannah. Apart from her artistic work, in ...

. In her two books Mary Dunn traces the life Lady Addle née Lady Blanche Coot daughter of the 13th Earl of Coot from her Victorian childhood until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The books are written in the first person in the form of " memoirs". Lady Addle details in gushing tones the daily and mundane details of her and her family's uneventful life in such a fashion that she believes they will be of great interest to future generations. written with a subtle humour of which Lady Addle is seemingly unaware. Lady Addle fancies herself a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

whose literary works are of high merit when in fact they are banal, and she gives hilarious suggestions on cookery and entertaining as serious fact. A second character detailed in the books is "Millicent, Duchess of Brisket", commonly known as "Mipsie." She is Lady Blanche's much married sister, née Lady Millicent Coote, a

nymphomaniac Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

eer,

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

keeper and gold digger, facts which Lady Addle unwittingly details while concentrating only on the tragedies of Mipsie's life, and how misunderstood she is. The books are illustrated by genuine Victorian photographs of members of the British upper class that have been hideously altered. For example, Lady Addle's mother, the Countess of Coote, is heavy-browed and cross-eyed, yet the photograph is captioned "''My beautiful Mother''", Lady Mipsie, later the Duchess of Brisket, is always shown with wild hair and protruding teeth is captioned "''Mipsie at her loveliest''" LadAddle symbolises in a humorous way those females of the early 20th century British

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

who subconsciously felt themselves more talented and intelligent than those of less exalted birth, encouraged by a period when it was not uncommon for the pronouncements and literary efforts of upper-class women to be eagerly consumed by an aspiring

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

. Lady Addle's philosophy can best be explained in the preface to ''Lady Addle Remembers'' ::"''Lady Addle hesitated to publish her memoirs on the grounds it would involve certain disclosures about some of the most illustrious names in Europe.........Destiny - has decreed that my ways should be in high places, I have played Halma with Lord Salisbury. I have bicycled with Bismark, I have knitted a comforter for a King. It is not fitting that I should speak of such moments''" Yet she forces herself to do so.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Addle, Blanche Characters in British novels of the 20th century