Lina Waterfield
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Caroline Lucie "Lina" Waterfield OBE (16 August 1874 – 27 November 1964)"Waterfield Lina"
Sistema Informativo Unificato per le Soprintendenze Archivistiche (SIUSA), 2011 , retrieved 7 March 2017.
was an English author and Italian correspondent for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
''. She founded the library which became the British Institute of Florence.


Early life

Lina Duff-Gordon was the only child of Maurice Duff-Gordon and his wife, Fanny. Maurice was the son and heir of Sir Alexander Cornewall Duff-Gordon, 3rd Baronet, and his wife, the writer Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon. Waterfield was born on 16 August 1874 in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...
, near Paris. In 1884 her father inherited and moved the family to
Fyvie Castle Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the si ...
in Scotland, but he subsequently went to live with a mistress, whom he later married, and Lina was sent to a Catholic convent school in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Her mother asked Janet Ross, Maurice's sister, to pay for Lina to attend a convent school in Paris, and since she had terminal cancer, arranged for Ross and her husband Henry to adopt her. Fanny Duff-Gordon died early in 1890, and after Lina wrote that she was being pressured to become a nun, in December she moved into the Ross' residence, in Settignano near
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. Her father gave permission for her adoption early in 1891, and she spent the rest of her childhood there, finishing her education with friends of her aunt's such as the artist Carlo Orsi and Guido Biagi, the head of the
Laurentian Library The Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana or BML) is a historic library in Florence, Italy, containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books. Built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze u ...
. Lina Waterfield was progressive in her politics following her adoption by the Ross family. She decorated the walls of her room with pictures of heroes of the
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
and refused to be presented at Court. By 1914 she was a
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
. As a young woman she was considered a beauty and was painted by
George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817 – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolism (arts), Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as ''Hope (Watts), Hop ...
, costumed based on
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
. While living with her aunt, she developed a close friendship with Margaret 'Madge' Symonds, a daughter of
John Addington Symonds John Addington Symonds Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although mar ...
, with whom she wrote her first book, on
Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...
, on a commission from J. M. Dent. She later became friendly with and took art tours with
Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...
and his mistress, later wife, Mary Smith. In 1897 on a visit to England she met the painter Aubrey Waterfield, whom she married in London on 1 July 1902 despite her aunt's objections; her adoptive father, Henry Ross, died 18 days later. After her marriage she was paintedwith her husband by Charles Furse in ''The Return from the Ride''.


Writing career

After living in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
while researching a book together, the newly married couple then spent three months in Rome creating another book on a short deadline, before leasing the near
Aulla Aulla is a ''comune'' in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in the valley of the Magra, River Magra. Geology In 1977, the Italian geologist Augusto Azzaroli discovered a series of mammal rests with a correl ...
, which became their primary home; they purchased it in 1924. Until the First World War they also leased Northbourne Court in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
as their English residence. They had three children, Gordon (1903–1987), John (1909–1942) and
Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
(1911–1995, known as Kinta). In her autobiography, Kinta wrote: "It was often said of my parents that they had all of the luxuries of life but none of the necessities." During the
First World War 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 Italian Socialists spread anti-British propaganda, which Lina Waterfield sought to counter. In 1916 she founded a British centre in the form of a library in Florence; with the assistance of
John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...
, at the time a leading propagandist in London, this became the British Institute of Florence, the first such institution, and was officially opened by the British ambassador in 1918; she later received the OBE for this work. She became Italian correspondent for ''The Observer'' in 1921. She interviewed
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...
several times before and after his rise to powerBoyana Georgieva
"The Waterfields of Tuscany"
British Institute of Florence, 20 May 2014.
and clearly described Fascist brutality in her reports. J. L. Garvin, the editor, ultimately ended her position with ''The Observer'' in 1935 over the strength of her
anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
; he believed Britain must maintain a relationship with Italy to forestall its becoming allied with
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. Waterfield's aunt Janet Ross died in 1927. She bequeathed Poggio Gherardo to the Waterfields' second son, John, with a life interest for Lina, and it became their primary residence. They left Italy after the outbreak of the Second World War, returning during the Phony War and caught the last train to France after a friend at the British Embassy sent them word on the eve of Italy's declaration of war in June 1940. John was killed in active service in Malta in 1942 and Aubrey died in 1944. After the
End of World War II in Europe The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet Union, Soviet t ...
, Lina returned to Poggio Gherardo in January 1946, having been invited by
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
to be the Italian correspondent for ''The Sunday Times''. He sent her telegrams requesting reports on such topics as what the Italians did "on a bender". She continued as correspondent for Kemsley Newspapers until 1950, when she sold the estate and moved back to the Fortezza della Brunella; in 1952 she returned to England to live with her daughter Kinta in Kent. Lina Waterfield died in
Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
on 27 November 1964.


Books

Waterfield began her writing career with books in the "Mediæval Towns" series on commission from Dent, beginning with ''The Story of Perugia'' (with Margaret Symonds, published 1898) and continuing with ''The Story of Assisi'' (1900). She was commissioned to write ''The Story of Palermo'', to be illustrated by her husband, but Dent decided instead to have Lina co-write and Aubrey illustrate ''Rome and Its Story'' (1904). She later wrote ''Concise and Practical Guide to Rome'' (1905). After the Second World War, she wrote ''Florence: A Short Guide to the Art Treasures of Florence'' (1950). She wrote two autobiographical works: ''Home Life in Italy: Letters from the Apennines'' (1908), again illustrated by her husband, and ''Castle in Italy: An Autobiography'' (1961), in which she misstated the birth years of two of her children. In 1993 her daughter and grandson sued Joanna Trollope on the grounds that her novel also titled ''A Castle in Italy'', written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey, paralleled Lina Waterfield's memoir overly closely. Janet Ross's successful cookery book, ''Leaves from our Tuscan Kitchen'', was originally her idea.


Archive

The Waterfield Collection of papers is held at the British Institute of Florence.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterfield, Lina 1874 births 1964 deaths 19th-century English historians 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English historians 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English journalists 20th-century English memoirists People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye English women journalists English women memoirists
Lina Lina ( ) is an international feminine given name, mostly the short form of a variety of names ending in ''-lina'' including Adelina, Angelina, Carmelina, Carolina, Catalina, Emelina, Evangelina, Evelina, Karolina, Italina, Marcelina, Meli ...
The Observer people The Sunday Times people British women in World War I English anti-fascists English expatriates in Italy Historians of Italy Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire