Saba, Lady Holland (; 1802–1866) was the eldest daughter of

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Besides his energetic parochial work, he was known for his writing and philosophy, founding the ''Edinburgh Review'', lecturing at the Royal Inst ...

and the second wife of Sir Henry Holland, a prominent physician and travel writer, with whom she had two daughters. She made a name for herself as the author of a much-read

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

of her famous father. Some of Smith's often-quoted sayings were first recorded in Lady Holland's memoir, including:

''Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose, nor a body to kick.''

and

''Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea. I can drink any quantity when I have not tasted wine.; otherwise I am haunted by blue devils by day, and dragons by night.''

Her daughters were Caroline Holland (1834–1909; author of ''Notebooks of a Spinster Lady'', published posthumously in 1919) and Gertrude Holland (1840–1898).

Notes

References

1802 births 1866 deaths 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British memoirists Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Wives of baronets British women memoirists {{UK-writer-stub