(Maria) Theresa Earle born (Maria) Theresa Villiers writing as Mrs C. W. Earle (8 June 1836 – 27 February 1925) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

horticulturist. She published three Pot-Pourri gardening guides starting in 1897.

Life

Villiers family group - Maria Theresa Earle et al

Earle was born in 1836 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

into the Villiers family

Villiers family Villiers ( ) is an Nobility, aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Duke of Buckingham, Bucki ...

. She was invited to serve at Queen Victoria's court but refused in 1856. Her family gave her the nickname of "Radical Theresa". She and her husband moved to a new house in Cobham in Surrey called Woodlands, although she had a house in London too. There, she turned her interest to gardening and her creation was admired. She had help from one gardener and his boy assistant. In 1897 her gardening guide ''Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden'' was published. She had been encouraged to write this by friends and had been supported by her niece

Constance Lytton Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton (12 February 1869 – 22 May 1923), usually known as Constance Lytton, was an influential British suffragette activist, writer, speaker and campaigner for prison reform, votes for women, and birth control. S ...

who typed some of the text. The book sold quickly and well and in one of the later editions Constance Lytton added a section of Japanese flower arranging. In 1899 she published "More Pot-pourri from a Surrey Garden" which was by "Mrs. C.W. Earle". There were eventually three Pot-purri books and they were said to be the model for the early books of

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

. Jekyll became a friend of hers. There were no more of her own gardening books but she collaborated with Ethel Case on two others. Her last two books were about her family history and her biography. Earle died at her home, Woodlands, in Cobham in 1925.

Personal life

She married Captain Charles William Earle at

St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, is an English Grade II* listed Anglican church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition located at 32a Wilton Place in Knightsbridge, London. History and architecture The church was founded in 1843, the first in London t ...

in 1864 after he returned from service with the army in India. Compared to her sisters this was a marriage to someone below her social position. Charles became a successful businessman and they had three sons. After her husband's death in 1897, she and their three sons had a memorial raised to her husband celebrating his life and military service in 1857 during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

. The memorial is at St Dunstans Church in Liverpool.

Vegetarianism

Earle was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. She advocated a vegetarian diet in her book ''Diet Difficulties with Notes on Growing Vegetables'', published in 1908."Diet Difficulties, with Notes on Growing Vegetables"
''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' (April 11, 1908). p. 23 Earle promoted a fruit and vegetable diet in which

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

are forbidden. Earle was Constance Lytton's aunt and converted her to vegetarianism. Earle was influenced by

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; 2 December 192420 February 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House chief of staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these cabine ...

's dietary theories. Her book ''A Third Pot-Pourri'' (1903) covered diet, health and vegetarianism. Adela Curtis, who taught meditation and was also a vegetarian assisted in preparing the book."Maria Theresa Earle (1836-1925)"
exploringsurreyspast.org.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2022.

Selected publications

''Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden''
(With an appendix by Lady Constance Lytton, 1898)
''More Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden''
(1900) *''A Third Pot-Pourri'' (1903) *''Diet Difficulties with Notes on Growing Vegetables'' (with Mrs. Hugh Bryan, 1908) *''Gardening for the Ignorant'' (with Miss Ethel Case, 1912)
''Pot-Pourri Mixed by Two''
(with Miss Ethel Case, 1914)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Theresa 1836 births 1925 deaths English vegetarianism activists English gardeners English garden writers People from London Opponents of tea drinking Villiers family