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Born
in 1699, into an aristocratic family, Henrietta St John as she then was,
had the world at her feet. But an unsatisfactory marriage to Robert Knight,
later Lord Luxborough, alleged misconduct and subsequent banishment; first
to an upstairs suite of attic rooms where she was allowed no contact with
the outside world – then to a dilapidated farmhouse, Barrells Green,
in Ullenhall near Henley-in-Arden, could have destroyed a woman of lesser
character.
That she was able, in the face of such adversity, to maintain her health,
reputation and dignity, was a minor miracle. But she did. She became a
literary hostess and corresponded with men of letters; and she revealed
her turbulent inner life in poetry which still speaks of her heartbreak
today.
It all happened and here is recorded the tale of her courage and persistence. |
