Lady Gwendolen Georgiana Gascoyne-Cecil (28 July 1860 – 28 September 1945) was a British author who wrote a four-volume biography of her father, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, entitled ''Life of Robert,

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

of Salisbury''. She also wrote a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

called ''The Little Ray'' for the August 1894 edition of

Pall Mall Magazine ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' was a monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914. Begun by William Waldorf Astor as an offshoot of ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', the magazine included poetry, short stories, serialized fiction, and ge ...

. Lady Gwendolen was born in 1860, the daughter of

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen ...

, and his wife, the former Georgina Alderson. In 1878 British Prime Minister

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...

stayed at her family home and he wrote 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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

that he had rarely met (referring to Gwendolen and her sister) "more intelligent and agreeable women.." In October 2017, author Johnny Mains revealed Lady Gwendolen as the author of the story ''The Closed Cabinet'' - a work once considered anonymous

References

18th-century British women writers 19th-century British women writers Women biographers 1860 births 1945 deaths Daughters of British marquesses Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom 18th-century British writers 19th-century British writers {{UK-writer-stub