Lady Ottoline Morrell by Adolf de Meyer circa 1912

Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Cavendish-Bentinck; 16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

and

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

, and artists including Mark Gertler,

Dora Carrington Dora de Houghton Carrington (29 March 1893 – 11 March 1932), known generally as Carrington, was an English painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytt ...

and

Gilbert Spencer Gilbert Spencer (4 August 1892 – 14 January 1979) was a British painter of landscapes, portraits, figure compositions and mural decorations. He worked in oils and watercolour. He was the younger brother of the painter Stanley Spencer. ...

Early life

Born Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentinck, she was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck (son of

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

and Lady Charles Bentinck) and his second wife, the former Augusta Browne, later created Baroness Bolsover. Lady Ottoline's great-great-uncle (through her paternal grandmother, Lady Charles Bentinck) was the 1st Duke of Wellington. Through her father, Arthur, she was a first cousin once removed of

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

, and thus a first cousin twice removed of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, both of whom descended from Arthur's brother Charles Cavendish-Bentinck. Ottoline was granted the rank of a daughter of a duke with the courtesy title of "Lady" soon after her half-brother

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 ...

succeeded to the Dukedom of Portland in 1879,''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'' (102nd Ed., 1959), p. 1820 at which time the family moved into

Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey is an English country house near the village of Welbeck in the Bassetlaw District of Nottinghamshire. It was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order, and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries a residen ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. The dukedom was a title which belonged to the head of the Cavendish-Bentinck family and which passed to Lady Ottoline's branch upon the death of their cousin, the 5th Duke of Portland, in December 1879. In 1899, Ottoline began studying political economy and Roman history as an out-student at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

Notable love affairs

Morrell was known to have had many lovers. Her first love affair was with an older man, the physician and writer Axel Munthe, but she rejected his impulsive proposal of marriage because her spiritual beliefs were incompatible with his

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

. In February 1902, she married the MP Philip Morrell, with whom she shared a passion for art and a strong interest in Liberal politics. They had what would now be known as an open marriage for the rest of their lives.Rolphe, Katie. ''Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Marriages'', Random House Digital, Inc.: New York, 2008. Philip's extramarital affairs produced several children who were cared for by his wife, who also struggled to conceal evidence of his mental instability. The Morrells themselves had two children (twins): a son, Hugh, who died in infancy; and a daughter, Julian, whose first marriage was to Victor Goodman and second marriage was to Igor Vinogradoff. Morrell had a long affair with

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

, Caws, Mary Ann and Wright, Sarah Bird. ''Bloomsbury and France: Art and Friends'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1999 with whom she exchanged more than 3,500 letters. She also had an affair with

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

. Her lovers may have included the painters

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

and

Henry Lamb Henry Taylor Lamb (21 June 1883 – 8 October 1960) was an Australian-born British painter. A follower of Augustus John, Lamb was a founder member of the Camden Town Group in 1911 and of the London Group in 1913. Early life Henry Lamb was bo ...

, the artist

, and the art historian

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...

. In her later years she had a brief affair with a gardener, Lionel Gomme, who was employed at Garsington. According to some literary critics, the fling of Morrell with "Tiger", a young

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

who came to carve

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

s for her garden statues, influenced the story in D. H. Lawrence's novel ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the final novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Florence, Italy, and in 1929, in Paris, France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Ki ...

''. Her circle of friends included many authors, artists, sculptors, and poets. Her work as a patron was enduring and influential, notably in her contribution to the Contemporary Art Society during its early years.

Hospitality

Ottoline Morrell 10 Gower Street blue plaque

The Morrells maintained a townhouse in

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many disti ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

and also owned a country house at Peppard, near Henley on Thames. Selling the house at Peppard in 1911, they subsequently bought and restored Garsington Manor near

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Morrell delighted in opening both as havens for like-minded people. Of Garsington, she said, "it seemed good to gather round us young and enthusiastic pacifists." 44 Bedford Square served as her London salon, while Garsington provided a convenient retreat, near enough to London for many of their friends to join them for weekends. She took a keen interest in the work of young contemporary artists, such as

Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE Royal Academy of Arts, RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if ...

, and she was particularly close to Mark Gertler and

, who were regular visitors to Garsington during the war.

lived for a while in a house on the Garsington estate. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Morrells were

pacifists Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

. They invited

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

s such as

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a Scottish painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets, and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...

Clive Bell Arthur Clive Heward Bell (16 September 1881 – 17 September 1964) was an English art critic, associated with formalism and the Bloomsbury Group. He developed the art theory known as significant form. Biography Early life and education Bell ...

and

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychology, psychologic ...

to take refuge at Garsington.

, recuperating there after an injury, was encouraged to go absent without leave as a protest against the war. The hospitality offered by the Morrells was such that most of their guests had no suspicion that they were in financial difficulties. Many of them assumed that Ottoline was a wealthy woman. This was far from being the case and during 1927, the Morrells were compelled to sell the manor house and its estate, and move to more modest quarters in

Gower Street, London Gower Street is a two-way street in Bloomsbury, central London, running from Euston Road at the north to Montague Place in the south. The street continues as North Gower Street north of Euston Road, while to the south it becomes Bloomsbury S ...

. In 1928, she was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, which resulted in a long hospitalisation and the removal of her lower teeth and part of her jaw.

Later life

Later, Lady Ottoline remained a regular host to the adherents of the

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...

, in particular

, and to many other artists and authors, who included

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

, L. P. Hartley, and

, and maintained an enduring friendship with Welsh painter

. She was an influential

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

to many of them, and a valued friend, who nevertheless attracted understandable mockery, due to her combination of eccentric attire with an aristocratic manner, extreme shyness and a deep religious faith that set her apart from her times. In 1912, Lady Ottoline was Vice President of The Eugenics Society, alongside writer and sexologist Henry Havelock Ellis, while Major Leonard Darwin, son of Charles Darwin, was President. Her work as a decorator, colourist, and garden designer remains undervalued, but it was for her great gift for friendship that she was mourned when she died in April 1938. She died from an experimental drug given by a doctor. The novelist

Henry Green Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels ''Party Going'', ''Living (novel), Living,'' and ''Loving (novel), Loving''. He published a total of n ...

wrote to Philip Morrell of "her love for all things true and beautiful which she had more than anyone ... no one can ever know the immeasurable good she did". Monuments carved by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

are in St Winifred's Church, Holbeck and St Mary's Church, Garsington. A

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

in her honour was erected at her London home, 10 Gower Street, by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, in 1986.

Literary legacy

Morrell wrote two volumes of memoirs, but these were edited and revised after her death. She also maintained detailed journals, over a period of 20 years, which remain unpublished. But perhaps Lady Ottoline's most interesting literary legacy is the wealth of representations of her that appear in 20th-century literature. She was the inspiration for Mrs Bidlake in

's '' Point Counter Point'', for Hermione Roddice in

's ''

Women in Love ''Women in Love'' is a 1920 novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel, '' The Rainbow'' (1915), and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an arti ...

'', for Lady Caroline Bury in

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

's '' It's a Battlefield'', and for Lady Sybilline Quarrell in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

's '' Forty Years On''. ''The Coming Back'' (1933), another novel which portrays her, was written by Constance Malleson, one of Ottoline's many rivals for the affection of

, as was ''Pugs and Peacocks'' (1921) by Gabriel Cannan. Some critics consider her the inspiration for Lawrence's Lady Chatterley. Huxley's ''

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

'' '' Crome Yellow'' depicts the life at a thinly veiled Garsington, with a caricature of Lady Ottoline Morrell for which she never forgave him. ''In Confidence,'' a short story by

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer and critic who was an important figure in the Literary modernism, modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world and have been ...

, portrays the "wits of Garsington" some four years in advance of ''Crome Yellow'', and with more wit than Huxley, according to Mansfield's biographer Antony Alpers. Published in ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938),credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published work by many of the chief politi ...

'' of 24 May 1917, it was not reprinted until 1984 in Alpers' collection of her short stories.

Portrayals in the arts

Non-literary portraits are also part of this interesting legacy, as seen in the artistic photographs of her by

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...

. There are portraits by

, and others. She is portrayed by

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

's film ''

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

'', by Roberta Taylor in Brian Gilbert's film '' Tom & Viv'', by

Penelope Wilton Dame Penelope Alice Wilton (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm and, as she has not remarried, retains her married style of Lady Holm. Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard ...

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...

's film '' Carrington'' and by Suzanne Bertish in Terence Davies' film ''

Benediction A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...

''. The first production of a biographical play, ''Ottoline'' by Janet Bolam, took place in the gardens of Garsington Manor in July 2021.

Photography

Morrell took hundreds of photographs of the people in her circle. Carolyn Heilbrun edited ''Lady Ottoline's Album'' (1976), a collection of snapshots and photographic portraits of Morrell and of her famous contemporaries, mostly taken by Morrell. File:Lytton Strachey, 1911-12.jpg,

, 1911–12 File:D.H. Lawrence, 29 November 1915.jpg, D.H. Lawrence, 1915 File:Mansfield 1917 cropped.jpg,

, 1916–17 File:John Middleton Murry, 1917.jpg,

John Middleton Murry John Middleton Murry (6 August 1889 – 12 March 1957) was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. ...

, 1917 File:Duncan Grant, 1922 (cropped).jpg,

, 1922 File:Jean de Menasce; Vanessa Bell (née Stephen); Duncan Grant; Eric Siepmann, 1922.jpg, Jean de Menasce,

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 Eric Siepmann, 1922 File:Dora Carrington; Ralph Partridge; Lytton Strachey; Oliver Strachey; Frances Catherine Partridge (née Marshall), 1923.jpg,

, Ralph Partridge,

Oliver Strachey Oliver Strachey CBE (3 November 1874 – 14 May 1960), a British civil servant in the Foreign Office, was a cryptographer from World War I to World War II. Life and work Strachey was a son of Sir Richard Strachey, colonial administrator and J ...

, and Frances Partridge, 1923 File:Eliot and Woolf by Morrell cropped.jpg,

and

, 1924

References

External links

Photographs of Ottoline Morrell
at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

*
Ottoline Morrell's Collection
at th
Harry Ransom Center
at

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Journal of Lady Ottoline Morrell, June 1926, with photographs of Virginia Woolf and TS Eliot
via Discovering Literature at the British Library
Journal of Lady Ottoline Morrell, June 1923, with photographs and accounts of Virginia Woolf
via Discovering Literature at the British Library
Journal of Lady Ottoline Morrell, 1917, with accounts of Virginia Woolf and Siegfried Sassoon
via Discovering Literature at the British Library
Pictures by Lady Ottoline Morrell

Lady Ottoline Morrell papers
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Ottoline 1873 births 1938 deaths Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Bloomsbury Group Daughters of barons English socialites Ottoline People from Royal Tunbridge Wells