Lucia Elizabeth Balcombe Abell (1802 − 29 June 1871) was a friend of
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
during his
exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
at
Saint Helena
Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory.
Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
. She was also an author and a landowner in
New South Wales, Australia.
Biography
Lucia Elizabeth Balcombe, commonly known as Betsy Balcombe, was born in 1802 as the second child of
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and Jane Balcombe, ''née'' Cranston.
[ Joan Kerr, ed., The Dictionary of Australian Artists Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870, ]Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
, New York, 1989 , p. 4. Her father was Superintendent of Public Sales for the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
. Balcombe and her sister Jane, two years her senior, were educated in England. In 1814, the sisters returned to Saint Helena with their parents and two younger brothers. There they resided in a cottage called the
Briars, where
Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
was their guest during the first three months of his exile in
Saint Helena
Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory.
Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
.
[L. Abell (Mrs. Lucia Elizabeth Abell)]
Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon during the first three years of his captivity on the island of St. Helena
London: Murray, 1844.
In October 1815 Napoléon Bonaparte was exiled to Saint Helena by the British government. Because Napoleon's residence,
Longwood House, had not yet been rehabilitated, he was housed in a pavilion near The Briars for the next two months. Although Balcombe was fearful of Bonaparte the first time they met, over time she and the emperor became friends.
'Abell, Lucia Elizabeth'
''Design & Art Australia Online'', '1992–2011. Retrieved 6 October 2019. The French officers and servants were jealous of the young English girl, who addressed Napoleon as "Boney", without being reprimanded by him.
Balcombe often visited Napoleon after he was removed to Longwood House. The European press recognised the relationship between the 47-year-old Napoleon and the teenage girl and wrote about a love story. In March 1818, the Balcombes left St Helena and went back to England. St Helena Governor Hudson Lowe disapproved of the friendship between the Balcombes and Napoleon, suspecting them of smuggling secret messages out of Longwood House.New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia, but returned to England soon after.Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...
.
Bibliography
*L. Abell (Mrs. Lucia Elizabeth Abell)
Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon during the first three years of his captivity on the island of St. Helena
London: Murray, 1844
*Lucia Elizabeth Balcombe Abell: ''To Befriend an Emperor: Betsy Balcombe's Memoirs of Napoleon on St. Helena''. Welwyn Garden City, UK: Ravenhill, 2005,
*Anne Whitehead: ''Betsy and the Emperor: The True Story of Napoleon, a pretty girl, a Regency rake and an Australian colonial misadventure''. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2015,
*Thomas Costain, "The Last Love". Republished: Doubleday, 2000. A fictionalized story of the relationship between Napoleon and Betsy Balcombe and her family
*M. Brookes (1960). St. Helena story / Dame Mabel Brookes; with a foreword by R. G. Menzies. London; Melbourne: Heinemann
In film
*'' Napoléon'' is a 2002 historical TV miniseries exploring the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, based on Max Gallo's book ''Napoleon'') of Napoleon's life. In the series, the 14-year-old Betsy Balcombe is played by Tamsin Egerton-Dick.
*'' Monsieur N.'' is a 2003 British-French film depicting Napoleon's life on St Helena, directed by Antoine de Caunes. Betsy Balcombe is played by Siobhan Hewlett.
See also
* Samantha Smith
* Sarah York
References
External links
*
*
Radio 4 – Betsy and Napoleon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcombe, Betsy
1802 births
1871 deaths
Saint Helenian people of British descent
British writers
British emigrants to the Colony of New South Wales