Lady Ottoline Morrell by Adolf de Meyer circa 1912

Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

, T. S. Eliot and

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

, and artists including Mark Gertler,

Dora Carrington Dora de Houghton Carrington (29 March 1893 – 11 March 1932), known generally as Carrington, was an English painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytton ...

and Gilbert Spencer.

Early life

Born Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentinck, she was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck (son of

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

and

Lady Charles Bentinck Lady Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (born Anne Wellesley; 29 February 1788 – 19 March 1875), known between 1806 and 1816 as Lady Abdy, was a British aristocrat and a great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. Background She was a daughter of ...

) and his second wife, the former Augusta Browne, later created

Baroness Bolsover Baron Bolsover, of Bolsover Castle in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 23 April 1880 (as Baroness Bolsover) for Augusta Cavendish-Bentinck, with remainder to the heirs male of the body of ...

. Lady Ottoline's great-great-uncle (through her paternal grandmother, Lady Charles Bentinck) was

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

The 1st Duke of Wellington. Through her father, Arthur, she was a first cousin once removed of

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

, and a first cousin twice removed of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, both of whom descended from Arthur's brother Rev. Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck. Ottoline was granted the rank of a daughter of a duke with the courtesy title of "Lady" when her half-brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

succeeded to the Dukedom of Portland in 1879, at which time the family moved into

Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is o ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

. The dukedom was a title which belonged to the Cavendish-Bentinck family and which passed to Lady Ottoline's branch upon the death of their cousin, the 5th Duke of Portland, in December 1879. In 1899, Ottoline began studying political economy and Roman history as an out-student at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, I ...

Notable love affairs

Morrell was known to have had many lovers. Her first love affair was with an older man, the doctor and writer

Axel Munthe Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of '' The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several l ...

, but she rejected his impulsive proposal of marriage because her spiritual beliefs were incompatible with his

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

. In February 1902, she married the MP Philip Morrell, with whom she shared a passion for art and a strong interest in Liberal politics. They had what would now be known as an

open marriage Open marriage is a form of non-monogamy in which the partners of a dyadic marriage agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded by them as infidelity, and consider or establish an open relatio ...

for the rest of their lives.Rolphe, Katie. ''Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Marriages'' Random House Digital, Inc.: New York, 2008 Philip's extramarital affairs produced several children who were cared for by his wife, who also struggled to conceal evidence of his mental instability. The Morrells themselves had two children (twins): a son, Hugh, who died in infancy; and a daughter, Julian, whose first marriage was to Victor Goodman and second marriage was to Igor Vinogradoff. Morrell had a long affair with

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...

,Caws, Mary Ann and Wright, Sarah Bird. ''Bloomsbury and France: Art and Friends'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1999 with whom she exchanged more than 3,500 letters. Her lovers may have included the painters

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...

and

Henry Lamb Henry Taylor Lamb (21 June 1883 – 8 October 1960) was an Australian-born British painter. A follower of Augustus John, Lamb was a founder member of the Camden Town Group in 1911 and of the London Group in 1913. Early life Henry Lamb was bo ...

, the artist

, and the art historian Roger Fry. In her later years she had a brief affair with a gardener, Lionel Gomme, who was employed at

Garsington Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire. "A History of the County of Oxfordshire" provides a detailed history of the parish from 1082. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,689. The vi ...

. According to some literary critics, the fling of Morrell with "Tiger", a young

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, ...

who came to carve

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

s for her garden statues, partly influenced the story in D.H. Lawrence's novel ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, wh ...

''. Her circle of friends included many authors, artists, sculptors and poets. Her work as a patron was enduring and influential, notably in her contribution to the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museums ...

during its early years.

Hospitality

Ottoline Morrell 10 Gower Street blue plaque

The Morrells maintained a townhouse in Bedford Square in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

and also owned a country house at Peppard, near

Henley on Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Bucking ...

. Selling the house at Peppard in 1911, they subsequently bought and restored Garsington Manor near

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Morrell delighted in opening both as havens for like-minded people. 44 Bedford Square served as her London salon, while Garsington provided a convenient retreat, near enough to London for many of their friends to join them for weekends. She took a keen interest in the work of young contemporary artists, such as

Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the sma ...

, and she was particularly close to Mark Gertler and

, who were regular visitors to Garsington during the war. Gilbert Spencer lived for a while in a house on the Garsington estate. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Morrells were

pacifists Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...

. They invited

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objec ...

s such as

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a British painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major i ...

Clive Bell Arthur Clive Heward Bell (16 September 1881 – 17 September 1964) was an English art critic, associated with formalism and the Bloomsbury Group. He developed the art theory known as significant form. Biography Origins Bell was born in East S ...

, and

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of '' Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...

to take refuge at Garsington.

, recuperating there after an injury, was encouraged to go

absent without leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

as a protest against the war. The hospitality offered by the Morrells was such that most of their guests had no suspicion that they were in financial difficulties. Many of them assumed that Ottoline was a wealthy woman. This was far from being the case and during 1927, the Morrells were compelled to sell the manor house and its estate, and move to more modest quarters in

Gower Street, London Gower Street is a two-way street in Bloomsbury, central London, running from Euston Road at the north to Montague Place in the south. The street is continued from North Gower Street north of Euston Road. To the south, it becomes Bloomsbury S ...

. In 1928 she was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, which resulted in a long hospitalisation and the removal of her lower teeth and part of her jaw.

Later life

Later, Lady Ottoline remained a regular host to the adherents of the

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton St ...

, in particular

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

, and to many other artists and authors, who included

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

L. P. Hartley Leslie Poles Hartley (30 December 1895 – 13 December 1972) was a British novelist and short story writer. Although his first fiction was published in 1924, his career was slow to take off. His best-known novels are the '' Eustace and Hilda'' ...

, and T. S. Eliot, and maintained an enduring friendship with Welsh painter

. She was an influential

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

to many of them, and a valued friend, who nevertheless attracted understandable mockery, due to her combination of eccentric attire with an aristocratic manner, extreme shyness and a deep religious faith that set her apart from her times. Her work as a decorator, colourist, and garden designer remains undervalued, but it was for her great gift for friendship that she was mourned when she died in April 1938. She died from an experimental drug given by a doctor. The novelist Henry Green wrote to Philip Morrell of "her love for all things true and beautiful which she had more than anyone...no one can ever know the immeasurable good she did". Monuments carved by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cr ...

are in

St Winifred's Church, Holbeck St Winifred's Chapel, Holbeck is a Grade II listed parish church and former private chapel in the Church of England in Holbeck, Nottinghamshire, south-west of Worksop. Holbeck is an estate village built for the Dukes of Portland at Welbeck Abbey ...

and St Mary's Church, Garsington. A

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

in her honour was erected at her London home, 10 Gower Street, by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, in 1986.

Literary legacy

Morrell wrote two volumes of memoirs, but these were edited and revised after her death, losing a little of their charm and much of their intimate detail in the process. She also maintained detailed journals, over a period of twenty years, which remain unpublished. But perhaps Lady Ottoline's most interesting literary legacy is the wealth of representations of her that appear in

20th-century literature Literature of the 20th century refers to world literature produced during the 20th century (1901 to 2000). In terms of the Euro-American tradition, the main periods are captured in the bipartite division, Modernist literature and Postmodern lite ...

. She was the inspiration for Mrs Bidlake in

's ''

Point Counter Point ''Point Counter Point'' is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1928. It is Huxley's longest novel, and was notably more complex and serious than his earlier fiction. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked ''Point Counter Point'' 44th on ...

'', for Hermione Roddice in

's ''

Women in Love ''Women in Love'' (1920) is a novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel '' The Rainbow'' (1915) and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, ...

'', for Lady Caroline Bury in

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

's '' It's a Battlefield'', and for Lady Sybilline Quarrell in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's '' Forty Years On''. ''The Coming Back'' (1933), another novel which portrays her, was written by Constance Malleson, one of Ottoline's many rivals for the affection of

, as was ''Pugs and Peacocks'' (1921) by Gabriel Cannan. Some critics consider her the inspiration for Lawrence's Lady Chatterley. Huxley's ''

roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship be ...

'' ''

Crome Yellow ''Crome Yellow'' is the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley, published by Chatto & Windus in 1921, followed by a U.S. edition by George H. Doran Company in 1922. Though a social satire of its time, it is still appreciated and has been ...

'' depicts the life at a thinly-veiled

, with a caricature of Lady Ottoline Morrell for which she never forgave him. ''In Confidence,'' a short story by

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

, portrays the "wits of Garsington" some four years in advance of ''Crome Yellow'', and with more wit than Huxley, according to Mansfield's biographer Antony Alpers. Published in ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publishe ...

'' of 24 May 1917, it was not reprinted until 1984 in Alpers' collection of her short stories. Five young gentlemen are having a drawing-room argument, observed by Isobel and Marigold: ''Aren't men extraordinary'' says Marigold.

Portrayals in the arts

Non-literary portraits are also part of this interesting legacy, as seen in the artistic photographs of her by

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

. There are portraits by

, and others. She is portrayed by

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

's film ''

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is consi ...

'', by Roberta Taylor in Brian Gilbert's film ''

Tom & Viv ''Tom & Viv'' is a 1994 historical drama film directed by Brian Gilbert, based on the 1984 play of the same name by British playwright Michael Hastings about the early love life of American poet T. S. Eliot. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Mirand ...

'', by

Penelope Wilton Dame Penelope Alice Wilton (born 3 June 1946), styled Penelope, Lady Holm between 1998 and 2001, is an English actress. She is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–1989); playing H ...

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton ( Horta, Azores, 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the novel of the same name and the film ...

's film '' Carrington'' and by Suzanne Bertish in Terence Davies' film ''

Benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

''. The first production of a biographical play, ''Ottoline'' by Janet Bolam, took place in the gardens of Garsington Manor in July 2021.

Photography

Morrell took hundreds of photographs of the people in her circle. Carolyn Heilbrun edited ''Lady Ottoline's Album'' (1976), a collection of snapshots and photographic portraits of Morrell and of her famous contemporaries, mostly taken by Morrell herself. File:Lytton Strachey, 1911-12.jpg,

, 1911–12 File:D.H. Lawrence, 29 November 1915.jpg, D.H. Lawrence, 1915 File:Mansfield 1917 cropped.jpg,

, 1916–17 File:John Middleton Murry, 1917.jpg, John Middleton Murry, 1917 File:Duncan Grant, 1922 (cropped).jpg,

, 1922 File:Jean de Menasce; Vanessa Bell (née Stephen); Duncan Grant; Eric Siepmann, 1922.jpg,

Jean de Menasce Jean de Menasce (1902–1973) was a French Catholic priest, of the Dominican Order, as well as an author and academic. He came from Jewish Egyptian and French parentage. Over his lifetime he mastered fifteen languages, including Hebrew, Syr ...

, Vanessa Bell,

and Eric Siepmann, 1922 File:Dora Carrington; Ralph Partridge; Lytton Strachey; Oliver Strachey; Frances Catherine Partridge (née Marshall), 1923.jpg,

, Ralph Partridge,

, Oliver Strachey and Frances Partridge, 1923 File:Eliot and Woolf by Morrell cropped.jpg,

and T. S. Eliot, 1924

References

External links

Photographs of Ottoline Morrell
at the National Portrait Gallery *
Ottoline Morrell's Collection
at th
Harry Ransom Center
at

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Journal of Lady Ottoline Morrell, June 1926, with photographs of Virginia Woolf and TS Eliot
via Discovering Literature at the British Library
Journal of Lady Ottoline Morrell, June 1923, with photographs and accounts of Virginia Woolf
via Discovering Literature at the British Library
Journal of Lady Ottoline Morrell, 1917, with accounts of Virginia Woolf and Siegfried Sassoon
via Discovering Literature at the British Library * Pictures by Lady Ottoline Morrell
Lady Ottoline Morrell papers
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Ottoline 1873 births 1938 deaths Bloomsbury Group English socialites Ottoline Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Daughters of barons