Lady Rachel Simon (; 1 August 1823 – 7 July 1899) was an English Jewish author.

Biography

Lady Rachel Simon was born in 1823, the fifth daughter of Alice () and Simeon Kensington Salaman. Her father was clothing supplier to the British Army and warden of the Western Synagogue, and she was the sister of

Annette Annette may refer to: Film and television * '' Walt Disney Presents: Annette'', 1950s television series * ''Annette'' (film), a 2021 musical film Other * Annette (given name), list of people with the name * Annette Island, Alaska * Tropical Stor ...

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, and Julia, and

Rose Emma Salaman Rose Emma Salaman (also Collins; – 23 December 1898) was an English poet and translator. She was born in London to Jewish parents Alice (née Cowen) and Simeon Kensington Salaman. Her thirteen siblings included Charles Kensington, Rachel, An ...

. Lady Simon grew up amid the intellectual and refined surroundings of a home which was the rendezvous of many distinguished people. On 12 July 1843, she married barrister John Simon, who would later serve as Serjeant-at-Law and Liberal Member of Parliament. A month after their marriage, the young couple left England for Jamaica, and on arrival there took up their residence in

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...

. Their daughter Zillah was born in 1844, the first of eight children, not long before the family immigrated to England when Rachel's health suffered in the tropical climate. They lived for a number of years in Wavertree, Liverpool and settled in London in 1856. Lady Simon kept from her seventeenth year a diary, from which she published a selection covering a period of fifty years under the title ''Records and Reflections''. The book, with which Lady Simon sought "to remove some of the prevailing misconceptions in regard to erancestral religion," was released in 1894 to favourable reviews. She wrote also a work on the Psalms, entitled ''Beside the Still Waters'' (1899). She died in London on 7 July 1899. Lady Simon was outlived by her five surviving children—two sons and three daughters. Her son Oswald John Simon (1855–1932) was a prominent communal worker and author, who served as member of the Council of the

Anglo-Jewish Association The Anglo-Jewish Association (AJA) is a British organisation. It was formed in 1871 for the 'promotion of social, moral, and intellectual progress among the Jews; and the obtaining of protection for those who may suffer in consequence of being Jew ...

from 1882 to 1911, and then as vice-president until his death.

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Rachel 1823 births 1899 deaths 19th-century British Jews 19th-century English non-fiction writers Burials at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery English diarists English Jewish writers Jewish women writers

Redcliffe N. Salaman Redcliffe Nathan Salaman (12 September 1874 – 12 June 1955) was a British physician, pathologist, botanist and potato breeder. His landmark work was the 1949 book ''The History and Social Influence of the Potato'', which established the histo ...

19th-century diarists