Rose Champion de Crespigny (born Annie Rose Charlotte Key; 9 November 1859 – 10 February 1935) was an English artist and author, who published many novels as Mrs Philip Champion de Crespigny. Rose was the daughter of Admiral Sir

Astley Cooper Key Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, (18 January 1821 – 3 March 1888) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado in November 1845 during the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata and too ...

(who later changed the surname to Cooper-Key) and his wife, Lady Charlotte Lavinia (''née'' McNeil). She was born 9 November 1859 in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, and she was baptised 15 December 1859 at

St John's, Notting Hill St John's Notting Hill is a Victorian Anglican church built in 1845 in Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, London,

. As an artist, her paintings tended toward landscape; her writing, after early forays into genealogical and local history, soon settled into popular fiction. Her work was described in a contemporary review as having ''"a certain graceful facility"''. She was a leading member of the Ridley Art Club, the Lyceum Club in Piccadilly, and of the

British College of Psychic Science James Hewat McKenzie (1869–1929) was a British parapsychologist, and the founder of the British College of Psychic Science. McKenzie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 11 November 1869 and died on 29 August 1929, in London.Buckland, Raymond ...

. Rose married Philip Augustus Champion de Crespigny (1850-1912), a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer and son of Sir Claude William Champion de Crespigny, 3rd Baronet, on 1 October 1878 in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. They had four children, including Frederick Philip Champion de Crespigny (1884–1947), who inherited the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, as the 7th Baronet, the year before his death:

Select bibliography

*''Key to the Roll of the Huguenots Settled in the United Kingdom'' (1884) *''The Roll of the Highland Clans of Scotland'' (1889) *''The New Forest; its traditions, inhabitants and customs'' (1895) *''From Behind the Arras'' (1902) *''The Mischief of a Glove'' (1903) *''The Rose Brocade'' (1905) *''The Grey Domino'' (1906) *''The Spanish Prisoner'' (1907) *''My Cousin Cynthia, and Others'' (1908) *''The Coming of Aurora'' (1909) *''The Valley of Achor'' (1910) *''The Five of Spades'' (1912) *''The Mark'' (1912) *''Hester and I'' (1915) *''Stories of To-day and Yesterday'' (1917) *''The Moving Finger'' (1919) *''The Shears of Atropos'' (1919) *''The Villa on the Borderive Road'' (1919) *''The Witness in the Wood'' (1919) *''The Case of Mr. Fitzgordon'' (1919) *''The Voice'' (1919) *''The Mind of a Woman'' (1922) *''The Valley of Orchids'' (1923) *''Tangled Evidence'' (1924), basis of film ''

Tangled Evidence ''Tangled Evidence'' is a 1934 British crime film directed by George A. Cooper (director), George A. Cooper and starring Sam Livesey, Joan Marion and Michael Hogan (British actor), Michael Hogan. It was made by Twickenham Studios and based on a ...

'' in 1934 *''The Missing Piece'' (1927) *''The Dark Sea'' (1927) *''Straws in the Wind'' (1928) *''The Eye of Nemesis'' (1931) *''Glimpses into Infinity'' (1931) *''A Case for the C.I.D.'' (1933) *''The Riddle of the Emeralds'' (1934) *''This World and Beyond'' (1934)Amazon Authors Page: Rose Champion de Crespigny
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References

1859 births 1935 deaths English women artists English women novelists English painters 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers People from Kensington Writers from London Artists from London {{England-painter-stub