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Haply I May Remember
PRE-ISBN.
This is not an autobiography (of Lady Cynthia Charteris (1887-1960), a member of the literary English aristocracy, who on her marriage became the daughter-in-law of a Herbert Asquith, the British Prime Minister). It is instead a book of chosen reminiscences: of houses and the life within those houses, of family (Wemyss and Wyndham), and of friends. Drawn by Edward Burne-Jones, John Sargent, and painted by Augustus John, she numbered DH Lawrence, LP Hartley, Detmar Blow, John Galsworthy, HG Wells, and JM Barrie (creator of ‘Peter Pan’) amongst her many friends.
The title of this book is taken from verse by Christina Rossetti:
"And dreaming throught the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget."
This is not an autobiography (of Lady Cynthia Charteris (1887-1960), a member of the literary English aristocracy, who on her marriage became the daughter-in-law of a Herbert Asquith, the British Prime Minister). It is instead a book of chosen reminiscences: of houses and the life within those houses, of family (Wemyss and Wyndham), and of friends. Drawn by Edward Burne-Jones, John Sargent, and painted by Augustus John, she numbered DH Lawrence, LP Hartley, Detmar Blow, John Galsworthy, HG Wells, and JM Barrie (creator of ‘Peter Pan’) amongst her many friends.
The title of this book is taken from verse by Christina Rossetti:
"And dreaming throught the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget."
237 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
11 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Asquith
80 books30 followersLady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Asquith was an English writer, now known for her ghost stories and diaries. She also wrote novels and edited a number of anthologies, as well as writing for children and on the British Royal family.
Her father was Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857 – 1937) and her mother Mary Constance Wyndham (see The Souls). In 1910, she married Herbert Asquith, son of H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916.
In 1913 she met D.H. Lawrence in Margate, and became a friend and correspondent.
Her father was Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857 – 1937) and her mother Mary Constance Wyndham (see The Souls). In 1910, she married Herbert Asquith, son of H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916.
In 1913 she met D.H. Lawrence in Margate, and became a friend and correspondent.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 21, 2012
Well written memoir of a childhood spent in the autumnal glow of the Late Victorian aristocracy. Pleasingly free of sentimentality.
Lady Cynthia Asquith was the eldest daughter of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857-1937) and his wife Mary Wyndham – sister of Chief Secretary for Ireland George Wyndham.
The Charteris family was Scottish, but their primary residence was the lovely Tudor era mansion of Stanway, in Gloucestershire. It was in the Cotswolds, where it had originally been the Abbot’s residence in a one of the monasteries “dissolved” and re-allocated by King Henry VIII. (Later, Stanway was leased to family friend and “Peter Pan” author J.M. Barrie, for whom Lady Cynthia served as secretary for many years.
Her mother, Mary, Lady Wemyss (1862-1937) was one of the leading members of the social group “The Souls”. She was a warm hostess, and was particularly close to future Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, with whom she corresponded frequently. Although the Wemyss family had multiple houses, and animals, and lived in an aristocratic manner, Lady Cynthia remembers that there was a constant concern for finances, and much discussion about the need for “retrenchment.” For example, all of the family, except for Lord Wemyss, travelled third class on trains. He had lost money on the stock exchange as a young man, and never really recovered financially.
Lady Cynthia was frequently the “sitter” for a number of prominent portrait artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She recollects memories of her encounters with a number of these “greats”: Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), and Augustus John (1878-1961). As a girl, she also met G.F. Watts (1817-1904), though she never sat for him. Later, she and her husband were good friends of painter and designer Rex Whistler (1905-1944); they spent a magical evening with Whistler shortly before his death in World War II.
Two of Lady Cynthia's brothers were killed in World War I, as was a brother-in-law, Raymond Asquith. She also bore sad memories of a very dear brother who died of scarlet fever at the age of 4. But Lady Cynthia doesn't dwell on the pain of family loss: the emphasis here is on childhood, and the tone certainly merits the adjective "haply".
Lady Cynthia Asquith was the eldest daughter of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857-1937) and his wife Mary Wyndham – sister of Chief Secretary for Ireland George Wyndham.
The Charteris family was Scottish, but their primary residence was the lovely Tudor era mansion of Stanway, in Gloucestershire. It was in the Cotswolds, where it had originally been the Abbot’s residence in a one of the monasteries “dissolved” and re-allocated by King Henry VIII. (Later, Stanway was leased to family friend and “Peter Pan” author J.M. Barrie, for whom Lady Cynthia served as secretary for many years.
Her mother, Mary, Lady Wemyss (1862-1937) was one of the leading members of the social group “The Souls”. She was a warm hostess, and was particularly close to future Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, with whom she corresponded frequently. Although the Wemyss family had multiple houses, and animals, and lived in an aristocratic manner, Lady Cynthia remembers that there was a constant concern for finances, and much discussion about the need for “retrenchment.” For example, all of the family, except for Lord Wemyss, travelled third class on trains. He had lost money on the stock exchange as a young man, and never really recovered financially.
Lady Cynthia was frequently the “sitter” for a number of prominent portrait artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She recollects memories of her encounters with a number of these “greats”: Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), and Augustus John (1878-1961). As a girl, she also met G.F. Watts (1817-1904), though she never sat for him. Later, she and her husband were good friends of painter and designer Rex Whistler (1905-1944); they spent a magical evening with Whistler shortly before his death in World War II.
Two of Lady Cynthia's brothers were killed in World War I, as was a brother-in-law, Raymond Asquith. She also bore sad memories of a very dear brother who died of scarlet fever at the age of 4. But Lady Cynthia doesn't dwell on the pain of family loss: the emphasis here is on childhood, and the tone certainly merits the adjective "haply".
February 4, 2015
Curiously interesting; but descends into bitty-ness.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews