Florence Henrietta Darwin, Lady Darwin (''née'' Fisher, previously Maitland; 31 January 18645 March 1920), was an English

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Early life

Florence Henrietta Fisher was born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the 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 by Kensington Garden ...

, London, to Herbert William Fisher and his wife Mary Louisa Jackson (1841–1916). Florence was sister to Herbert Fisher and Adeline Maria Fisher, first wife of

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. She was a first cousin of

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 i ...

, her siblings

Vanessa Bell Vanessa Bell (née Stephen; 30 May 1879 – 7 April 1961) was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury Group and the sister of Virginia Woolf (née Stephen). Early life and education Vanessa Stephen was the eld ...

and

Adrian Stephen Adrian Leslie Stephen (27 October 1883 – 3 May 1948) was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, an author and psychoanalyst, and the younger brother of Thoby Stephen, Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. He and his wife Karin Stephen became interested ...

and half-siblings

George Herbert Duckworth Sir George Herbert Duckworth, Order of the Bath, CB, Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (5 March 1868 – 27 April 1934) was an English public servant. Early life and family The son of Herbert Duckworth, a barrister, of Orchardleigh Park, Som ...

and

Gerald Duckworth Gerald de l'Etang Duckworth (29 October 1870 – 28 September 1937) was an English publisher, who founded the London company that bears his name. Henry James and John Galsworthy were among the firm's early authors. Background and early life D ...

through her aunt Julia and of William Wyamar Vaughan through her aunt Adeline. As a child, she posed for a series of photographic portraits by her great aunt,

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (''née'' Pattle; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was a British photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian m ...

, including ''A Study of

St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

''. In ''F. W. Maitland: a Child's-Eye View'', her daughter Ermengard mentions Florence's "menagerie of animals, her hours of violin playing, her feeding of tramps and gypsies, her photography and pony-driving, her story-telling and play-writing," and her liking for

Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

Personal life

In 1886 she married

Frederic William Maitland Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English historian and lawyer who is regarded as the modern father of English legal history. Early life and education, 1850–72 Frederic William Maitland was born at 53 Guilford Street, Lon ...

(1850–1906), with whom she had two daughters, Ermengard (1888–1968) and Fredegond (1889–1949). On 3 March 1913, she became the third wife of

Sir Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was th ...

, first cousin once removed (twice over) of her sister's husband Ralph Vaughan Williams, the second Josiah Wedgwood and his wife Elizabeth being their shared ancestor on one side and

Robert Darwin Robert Waring Darwin (30 May 1766 – 13 November 1848) was an English medical doctor, who today is best known as the father of the naturalist Charles Darwin. He was a member of the influential Darwin–Wedgwood family. Biography Darwin was bor ...

and his wife Susannah on the other. She died on 5 March 1920Deaths. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', Wednesday, Mar 10, 1920; p. 1; Issue 42355; col A and was buried at the

Ascension Parish Burial Ground, Cambridge The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly known as the burial ground for the parish of St Giles and St Peter's, is a cemetery off Huntingdon Road in Cambridge, England. Many notable University of Cambridge academics are buried there, includi ...

, along with her second husband and his daughter

Frances Cornford Frances Crofts Cornford (née Darwin; 30 March 1886 – 19 August 1960) was an English poet. Life She was the daughter of the botanist Francis Darwin and Newnham College fellow Ellen Wordsworth Crofts (1856-1903), and born into the Darwin ...

Works

In 1921, family friend

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...

posthumously published the compilation ''Six Plays'', which included ''The New Year'', ''The Seeds of Love'', ''Princess Royal'', ''My Man John'', ''Bushes and Briars'' and ''The Lover's Tasks''. A book entitled ''Green Broom'' was published in 1923.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Florence Henrietta 1864 births 1920 deaths English dramatists and playwrights British women dramatists and playwrights