Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon
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Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon ( Austin; 24 June 1821 – 14 July 1869) was an English author and translator who wrote as Lucie Gordon. She is best known for her ''Letters from Egypt, 1863–1865'' (1865) and ''Last Letters from Egypt'' (1875), most of which are addressed to her husband, Alexander Duff-Gordon, and her mother, Sarah Austin. Having moved in prominent literary circles in London, she contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
and travelled in 1861 to South Africa for health reasons. She travelled on to Egypt in 1862 where she settled in
Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...
, learnt Arabic, and wrote many letters about Egyptian culture, religion, and customs. Her letters are notable for humour, outrage at the ruling
Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
, and many personal stories from the people around her.


Early life

Lucie Austin was born on 24 June 1821, in Queen Square, Westminster, to John Austin (1790–1859), a
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, and his wife, Sarah Austin, a translator. Lucie's father was a professor of jurisprudence and a noted intellectual while her mother was well educated for a woman of the time, used to discussing politics on an equal footing with men. Her parents' only child, her chief playfellows were her first cousin Henry Reeve, and the teenage
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...
. Inheriting her parents' talents Lucie developed a strong love of reading and as she grew in vigour and in sense, she developed a strong tinge of originality and independence, with a marked love of animals. Her childhood included the elderly
Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February Dual dating, 1747/8 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.
5 February 1748 Old Style and New Style dates, N.S. 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
– 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of mo ...
(who had founded Utilitarianism) take her around his garden in an activity they called "ante-prandial circumgyration". In 1826 she went with her parents to
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on the Rhine, and stayed sufficiently long enough to return speaking fluent German. She had scant regular instruction, but was for a short time at a mixed school of boys and girls kept by George Edward Biber at Hampstead, where she learnt Latin. By the age of 13 she was reading the "
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
" in the original. She also kept her pet snake twined into her plaited hair, and was thought to be "un peu unmanageable" by her mother and "a potential homicide" by a friend of the family. Following the breakdown of her father's health, which had always been delicate, the family moved to Boulogue-sur-Mer where they lived from 1834 to 1836. In 1836, her father was appointed as a Royal Commissioner to inquire into the grievances in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. While his wife accompanied him, the climate was considered too hot for a young girl so Lucie was sent to Miss Shepherd's school at
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
. Her parents were
Unitarians Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...
, but at the age of 16 Lucie insisted on being baptised and confirmed as a member of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. As a girl she made the acquaintance of
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...
. Lord Houghton's ''Monographs Personal and Social'', 1873, pp.323–32 contains an affecting narrative of her visits to the poet in Paris in 1854 shortly before his death.


Marriage

Upon her parents' return to England in 1838, Lucie attended her first society ball, held at
Lansdowne House Lansdowne House, now 9 Fitzmaurice Place, is the remaining part of an aristocratic English town house building to the south of Berkeley Square in central London, England. The initial name was for two decades Shelburne House, then its title ...
, the London home of the
Marquess of Lansdowne Marquess of Lansdowne is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1784, and held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family. The first Marquess served as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Origins This branch of the Fitzmaurice family ...
. Here she met Sir Alexander Cornewall Duff-Gordon, 3rd Baronet, of Halkin, who was ten years her senior. As her father descended into melancholy and self-doubt, her mother took on work as a translator, writing for various periodicals and as a teacher to support the family. Lucie was allowed to meet and walk out alone with Duff-Gordon. One day he said to her: "Miss Austin, do you know people say we are going to be married?". Annoyed at being talked of, and hurt at his brusque way of mentioning it, she was just going to give a sharp answer, when he added: "Shall we make it true?" to which she replied with the monosyllable "Yes". The couple were married on 16 May 1840 in Kensington Old Church, despite the initial objections by the groom's mother over Lucie's lack of a dowry. Following her marriage at the age of 18, Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon continued with translating and various other writing projects. The couple lived at 8 Queen Square, Westminster, a house with a statue of Queen Anne at one end, since renumbered as 15
Queen Anne's Gate Queen Anne’s Gate is a street in Westminster, London. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, known for their Queen Anne architecture. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner described the Gate’s early 18th century houses as “the best of the ...
. Here a remarkable circle of friends and acquaintances often met. Lord Lansdowne, Lord Monteagle,
Caroline Norton Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton, Lady Stirling-Maxwell (''née'' Sheridan; 22 March 1808 – 15 June 1877) was an active English social reformer and author.Perkin, pp. 26–28. She left her husband, who was accused by many of coercive behaviour, ...
,
Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...
,
Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
,
Elliot Warburton Bartholomew Eliot George Warburton (1810–1852), usually known as Eliot Warburton, was an Irish traveller and novelist, born near Tullamore, Ireland. Biography His father was Major George Warburton, Inspector General of the Royal Irish Cons ...
,
Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literatu ...
,
Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...
, Alexander Kinglake, and Henry Taylor were habitués, and every foreigner of talent and renown looked upon the house as a centre of interest. On one occasion
Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...
was among the visitors. A noted character in the establishment in Queen Square was a Nubian boy called Hassan el Bakkeet, who had been enslaved before being rescued by English missionaries. He had then obtained a position as a servant but after he was threatened with blindness his employer had sacked him. As he had occasionally delivered messages to Queen Square, he found his way, as he explained, 'to die on the threshold of the beautiful pale lady.' He was found crouching on Lady Duff-Gordon's doorstep one night, when she was returning from a theatrical party at Charles Dickens's home. She took el Bakkeet in, had his eyes treated and his condition cured. He became known as Hatty, and was employed as Lady Duff-Gordon's devoted servant and well known to visitors. He was also a playmate to her daughter Janet, to the horror of a visiting American author, a Mr. Hilliard, who asked Lady Duff-Gordon how she could let a negro touch her child, whereupon she called Janet and Hatty to her, and kissed each of them. Hatty contracted
consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...
and died in the
Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...
in 1850. As her parents had settled in
Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...
the Duff-Gordons spent some summers with them. The house was cold and damp, which lead Janet Duff- Gordon to attribute her mother's later bad health to the incessant colds she caught there. While living at Weybridge in 1850 Lady Duff-Gordon established and superintended a working-men's library and reading-room. Following the birth of her son Maurice in 1849, Lady Duff-Gordon began to succumb to tuberculosis and by the winter of 1861 she had become so ill that her doctors advised her to travel to a warmer, drier climate. After trying
Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface D ...
for two winters, she went on a voyage to the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
in 1860. An account of this appeared in
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...
's ''Vacation Tourist'', 1862–63, pp.119–222, under the title "Letters from the Cape".


Egypt

Upon her return to England, she was persuaded to go to Eaux Bonnes in the autumn of 1862, which negatively affected her health. Lady Duff-Gordon then decided to visit the newly fashionable Egypt, leaving her husband and children behind in England. While she was familiar with the country from reading
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
, the Bible,
Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...
and
Alexander William Kinglake Alexander William Kinglake (5 August 1809 – 2 January 1891) was an English orientalist travel writer and historian. He was born near Taunton, Somerset, and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was called to the ba ...
's ''Eothan,'' they hadn't prepared her for the realities of modern Egypt when she disembarked in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
in October 1862. She noted "what is not pleasant is the absence of all brightness or gaiety, even from young and childish faces." Despite this she made Egypt her home for the rest of her life with the exception of two short visits to England in 1863 and 1865. Open to other cultures and a supporter of working-class politics in the United Kingdom, Lady Duff-Gordon's sympathies were with the hard-working
fellah A fellah ( ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a local peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". Due to a con ...
in (peasantry) of Egypt. During the first years of her residence on the Nile she wrote numerous letters to her family, in which she gave vivid descriptions of Eastern life and many details of domestic manners and customs. These were collected and edited by her mother Sarah Austin and published as ''Letters from Egypt, 1863–1865'' in May 1865 to provide money to support her in exile. The publication was the first really intimate picture written by a European of a country that was in vogue in the West. The image it created of her heroic struggle with consumption while far from home captured the imagination of the reading public. In many of her letters she made frequent scathing remarks about the British abroad and the Egyptian government. The book was so popular that the book went through three editions in its first year of publication. As a result of her literary fame, many British travellers passing through Luxor made a point of calling on her, including the writer
Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
in January 1867 and the Prince and Princess of Wales in February 1869. She found the city more to her liking describing it as "a golden existence, all sunshine and poetry, and I must add kindness and civility." Hiring a servant Omar, who was known by his nickname Abu Halawy ("father of sweets") Lady Duff-Gordon proceeded upstream. After 10 days on the Nile she observed that she was sleeping and eating better and coughing less. By the time the boat reached
Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut''. ( ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city i ...
after three weeks of travel, she was in love with Egypt despite having no interest in country's ancient monuments. Lady Duff-Gordon returned to England in June 1863 but her health continued to fail and so both for its sake and because of her enthrallment with the country, she returned to Egypt in October of the same year. As it was by then winter she found that Cairo was too cold and damp, so relocated to Luxor. She was able to persuade the French consul to allow her to take up residence in Luxor what was called "The French House", a large ramshackle building located on top of the dirt and debris that covered Luxor Temple right up to its roof. She described it in a letter to her husband in 1864 as "The view all round my house is magnificent on every side, over the Nile in front facing north-west and over a splendid range of green and distant orange buff hills to the south-east, where I have a spacious covered terrace." On a journey down the Nile in 1865 she nearly died of
pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...
and was nursed back to health by her servant Omar. Throughout her long stay in Egypt she won golden opinions from the local people. Her unvarying kindness, her attention to the sick, her charm, and her sympathy with the oppressed, endeared her to the people, to whom she was known as "Noor ala Noor" (light from the light) and ''Sitt el Kebeer'' (Great Lady), who "was just and had a heart that loved the Arabs". During an epidemic in the spring of 1864 Egyptians preferred to rather than the government clinics. She also gained a reputation for having a "lucky eye" and thus being regarded as a bringer of good luck was called upon for numerous flavours including visiting houses under construction, inspecting cattle and young brides. She was outspoken about the profligacy of Egypt's ruler Ismail, who made an attempt to bribe a boatman to drown her, but her popularity saved her. Some of her letters were intercepted by the Government and never delivered. One of her original donkey boys was Muhammad Mohassib, who later would become a well-known antiquities dealer in
Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...
. In December 1867, six days prior to her return from a trip away, part of the French House collapsed following a flood into the temple below.


Death

Lady Duff-Gordon's condition worsened in early 1869 forcing her to move, in search of better terminal care, to the spa resort of
Helwan Helwan ( ', , ) is a suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt. The area of Helwan witnessed prehistoric, ancient Egyptian, Roman and Muslim era activity. More recently it was designated as a city until as late as the 1960s, befor ...
, just south of
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
where she died on 13 July 1869, aged 48. She was buried in the English cemetery there. Her husband died in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 27 October 1872 aged 61.


Personal life

She and Duff-Gordon had four children. Their daughter Janet Ann Ross was born in 1842 and died in 1927. Their second child was born in 1849 but died after only a few months of life. Their third child Maurice (1849–1896) became Sir Maurice Duff-Gordon, 4th
Baronet 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 ...
. Their fourth child Urania Duff-Gordon was born in 1858 and died on 22 September 1877. Sir Maurice's daughter Caroline "Lina" (1874–1964) became an author and foreign correspondent for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
''; she was the mother of author Gordon Waterfield and grandmother of the historian Sir
Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works, mainly on the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently the Russian Revolution and Civil War. ...
.


Works

Lucie Austin commenced her literary life with translations, her earliest work being Barthold Niebuhr's ''Studies of Ancient Grecian Mythology'', which was published in 1839 under her mother's name. In 1844 she translated Wilhelm Meinhold's '' Mary Schweidler, the Amber Witch'', a narrative dressed up as a 17th-century chronicle, and concocted to discredit rationalist methods of biblical criticism. In 1845 she published ''The French in Algiers, from the German and French of C. Lamping'', and in 1846 ''Narrative of Remarkable Criminal Trials, by P. J. A. von Feuerbach''. In 1847 she and her husband Sir Alexander Duff-Gordon, translated ''Memoirs of the House of Brandenberg, by L. von Ranke''. She translated ''Stella and Vanessa'', a romance by A. F. L. de Wailly, and in 1853 two other works: ''The Village Doctor'', by the Countess d'Arbouville, and ''Ferdinand I and Maximilian II of Austria'', by L. von Ranke. In 1854 she translated ''The Russians in Bulgaria and Roumelia, 1828–29'', by Baron von Moltke. She edited ''The History and Literature of the Crusades'', by H. C. L. von Sybel, in 1861.


Letters from Egypt

The first volume of Lady Duff-Gordon's ''Letters from Egypt'' was published by Macmillan and Co. in May 1865, with a preface by her mother, Sarah Austin. This book is the best known and considered the most interesting of her productions. In 1875 a volume containing the ''Last Letters from Egypt'', to which were added ''Letters from the Cape'', reprinted from ''Vacation Tourists'' (1864), with a memoir of Lady Duff-Gordon by her daughter Janet Ross was published by Macmillan and Co. A second edition appeared in 1876. In 1902 a revised edition was published by R. Brimley Johnson with a memoir of Lady Duff-Gordon by her daughter Janet Ross and a new introduction by George Meredith. This had the letters as they were written, omitting only the purely family matter which her daughter deemed as of no interest to the public.


In literature

Lady Duff-Gordon is one of the characters in the novel ''The Mistress of Nothing'' by Kate Pullinger. Lady Duff-Gordon's daughter (Janet Ross) recalled, "
Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...
told my mother that he had her in mind when he wrote ' The Princess'. I don't think she was as much flattered as many of his admirers would have been."


References

;Note ;Citations ;Sources * * * *


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duff-Gordon, Lucie 1821 births 1869 deaths 19th-century English translators 19th-century English women writers 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Lucie Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lucie Ahl (born 1974), British tennis player * Lucie Arnaz (born 1951), American actress * Lucie Aubrac (1912–2007), member of ...
English expatriates in Egypt English letter writers English orientalists English travel writers English women letter writers English women travel writers German–English translators Tuberculosis deaths in Egypt Wives of baronets