Elizabeth Lydia Rosabelle, Lady Clifford ( Bonham, formerly de la Pasture; 1866 – 30 October 1945), as known as Mrs Henry de la Pasture, was an English novelist, dramatist and children's writer. Her children's novel ''The Unlucky Family'' has been called a classic of its genre.

Biography

She was born Elizabeth Lydia Rosabelle Bonham in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, daughter of Edward Bonham of Bramling,

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 ...

, a British

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

. A Roman Catholic, she married, in 1887, Henry Philip Ducarel de la Pasture of

Llandogo Llandogo ( cy, Llaneuddogwy) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south Wales, between Monmouth and Chepstow in the lower reaches of the Wye Valley AONB, two miles north of Tintern. It is set on a steep hillside overlooking the River Wye and a ...

Priory, Monmouthshire. The couple moved at

Aldrington Aldrington is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, previously part of the old borough of Hove. For centuries it was meadow land along the English Channel stretching west from the old village of Hove to the old mouth of the River Adur, and i ...

, near

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

, when Edmée, the elder of their two daughters was born in 1890. Edmée was known by the pseudonym E. M. Delafield (married name Edmée Dashwood) and authored the ''Provincial Lady'' series, but predeceased her mother in 1943, whom she failed to mention in her ''Who's Who'' entry.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 279. The younger daughter, Yolande Friedl, called Yoé, was a medical doctor, who died in London in 1976. Her first marriage ended in 1908 with the death of her husband. Two years later she married Sir

Hugh Clifford Sir Hugh Charles Clifford, (5 March 1866 – 18 December 1941) was a British colonial administrator. Early life Clifford was born in Roehampton, London, the sixth of the eight children of Major-General Sir Henry Hugh Clifford and his wife Jo ...

, a colonial administrator and a friend of the novelist Joseph Conrad, with whom she lived between 1912 and 1929 successively in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

(where she edited an album in 1908),

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, Ceylon and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. He ended his career as

Governor of the Straits Settlements The governor of the Straits Settlements was appointed by the British East India Company until 1867, when the Straits Settlements became a Crown colony. Thereafter the governor was appointed by the Colonial Office. The position existed from 1826 ...

. In 1918, she was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Works

Fiction

Extra titles and information: *''The Little Squire'' (1893). Children's novel, later dramatised *''A Toy Tragedy'' (1894). Children's novel, translated as ''Jeanne, la petit mère'' by Bl. de Méry, 1914 *''Deborah of Tod's'' (1897). Later dramatised, reprinted 1898 and 1908 *''Adam Grigson'' (1899). Reprinted 1908 *''Catherine of Calais'' (1901). Reprinted 1907 *''Cornelius'' (1903). Reprinted 1909 *''Peter's Mother'' (1905). Dramatised and acted at Sandringham by royal command in 1906, reprinted 1906, 1907 and 1912 *''The Lonely Lady of Grosvenor Square'' (1906). Reprinted 1907 and 1909 *''The Unlucky Family'' (1907). Children's novel, reprinted 1908, 1946, 1980 and 1988. In his 1980 preface

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh (17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was an English journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

called it "one of the great classics of its genre". *''The Grey Knight: An Autumn Love Story'' (1908) *''Catherine's Child'' (1908) *''The Tyrant'' (1909). Reprinted 1910 *''Master Christopher'' (1911) *''Erica'' (1912). Entitled ''The Honorable Mrs. Garry'' for the 1912 Canadian and 1913 American editions *''Michael Ferrys'' (1913). Entitled ''Michael'' for the American edition

Plays

*''The Man from America'' (1905). Sentimental comedy *''The Lonely Millionaires'' (1905) *''Her Grace the Reformer'' (1907)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:De La Pasture, Henry, Mrs 1866 births 1945 deaths British dramatists and playwrights Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English Roman Catholics English women novelists Spouses of British politicians English women dramatists and playwrights Wives of knights