She was born in 1836. In 1861 she was married to a stolid country squire with no interests beyond hunting and shooting, she was a young beauty who had already caught the eye of all the titled libertines of her day. While her husband killed foxes, deer, grouse, and salmon, or sat in Parliament, she entertained numerous lovers. In 1869 she gave birth to a blind daughter. Convinced that the baby’s affliction was the result of a venereal disease, she confessed everything to her enraged husband. He immediately sued for divorce. Her father, who had several other daughters to marry off, announced that she was mad in order to prevent a divorce trial and save the family’s reputation. She was incarcerated in various rented houses, and after some weeks either broke down or agreed to feign madness: smashing plates, eating coal, howling and crawling. Who is she?
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