1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and I'm Holly Fry. Violet Paget, 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: who was more often known by her pen name Burning Lee, 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: was a historian and an art and literary critic, and 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: she wrote across all kinds of subjects, including music and 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: travel and esthetics and psychology and economics. And the reason 8 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: that we were talking about her in October ghost stories. 9 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: There maybe aren't quite as many ghost stories as I 10 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: was hoping when I embarked on this, but there are some. Yeah, 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,599 Speaker 1: I'll take it. Violent Paget was born on October fourteenth, 12 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: the eighteen fifty six in Boulogne, Surmer, France. Her parents 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: were Henry Ferguson and Matilda Paget. And Matilda had been 14 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: married once before, to a Captain James Lee Hamilton's, who 15 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: died in eighteen fifty two. You. She had one son 16 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: from that first marriage, Eugene Lee Hamilton's, who was eleven 17 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: years older than Violet. Violet's father had been Eugene's tutor, 18 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: and since he had no money or background to speak of, 19 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,479 Speaker 1: Matilda's family had been kind of shocked when she chose 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: to marry him. Yeah, Matilda was owed an inheritance, but 21 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: it was tied up in a very complicated legal dispute. So, 22 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: even though they were British citizens, the Pagets couldn't afford 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: to keep up a genteel lifestyle in England, especially not 24 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: one that would require them to maintain a home to 25 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: keep up with their neighbors in that home. They could, however, 26 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: afford that same basic level of comfort abroad. So Violet 27 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: and Eugene grew up in a somewhat eccentric, very wandering 28 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: existence in continental Europe. They moved from place to place, 29 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: and they lived off what little income Matilda did have, 30 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: staying in inns and rented rooms. But they weren't tourists. 31 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: Matilda was adamant that they were not tourists. Later in 32 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: her life here is Violet described it quote, we shifted 33 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: our quarters invariably every six months, and by dint of shifting, 34 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: crossed Europe's length and breadth in several directions. But this 35 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: was moving, not traveling, and we contemned all travelers. Violet's 36 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: mother really doated on Eugene, and she focused most of 37 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: her attention on Eugene's upbringing in education. Even after Eugene 38 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: went off to Oxford, Matilda was still way more attentive 39 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: to how he was doing than she was to violets studies. 40 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: Violet did have a series of governesses, but a lot 41 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: of time she was just left on her own and 42 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: to her own devices when it came to study. But 43 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: she was extremely bright, and she was very precocious, and 44 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: they were living all over Europe, so she became fluent 45 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: in English, French, Italian and German, and she taught herself 46 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: a wide range of subjects. While Violet's mother hated the 47 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: idea of being a tourist, that often wasn't the case 48 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: when it came to their various neighbors. When Violet was ten, 49 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: the family was in Niee and their neighbors included the 50 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: Sergeant family. That's including John Singer Sergeant also aged ten, 51 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: and his sister Emily, who was about a year younger. 52 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: And John's mother had taken the family to Niece for 53 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: the sake of her health, and she loved being a tourist. 54 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,119 Speaker 1: She filled their days with all kinds of outings, including 55 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: to libraries and museums and historical points of interest, and 56 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: she made it a point to invite Violet along as well. 57 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: That same year that the Pagets met the Sergeant's, Eugene 58 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: dropped out of Oxford. This was a huge disappointment to 59 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: their mother, but it meant that Violet finally had an 60 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: adult to give her self education some more direction. Over 61 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: the next few years, Eugene played a big part in 62 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: Violet's course of study, and he also started to give 63 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: her feedback on her writing The Paget's and the Sergeant's 64 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: Crossed Paths repeatedly after meeting in Nice and Mrs Sergeant 65 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: encouraged all of the children to play right and draw together. 66 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: Violet and John weren't particularly close after they grew up, 67 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: although he did draw and paint her, but Violet and 68 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: Emily Sergeant remained close friends for the rest of their lives. 69 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: John Singer Sergeant portrait of Vernon Lee's is the art 70 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: for this episode on our website. I love it, yet 71 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 1: she reminds me of Chummy on Call the Midwife, which 72 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: I know is not a show that you were particularly into. You. 73 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: I don't watch it because of all the baby halvings. Yes, 74 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: that's not your thing. It is my thing. So it 75 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: was through all these art outings with the sergeants that 76 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: Violet started to become a lot more interested in history 77 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: and architecture and art. And this was particularly true when 78 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: both families were living in Rome. When Violet and John 79 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: were twelve, After walking through the streets and the historical 80 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: sites of Rome and becoming really immersed in its sense 81 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: of centuries of history, she really threw herself into studying it. 82 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: She also started writing more and arm and developing her 83 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: own imaginative side, both through writing and through play. For example, 84 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: she and John Singer Sergeant would read about things like 85 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: historical executions, and then they would act those out, like 86 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:17,280 Speaker 1: what kid didn't do that, I'd love that story. Violet's 87 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: first published work came out when she was fourteen, and 88 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: it drew from her time in Rome and her study 89 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: of history and art there. It was written in French 90 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 1: and titled liz Aventures dun pas de monet or The 91 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 1: Adventures of a Coin, And as that title suggests, it's 92 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: a story told through the life of a coin. It 93 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: starts out in ancient Rome, and then the coin passes 94 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: from person to person through the centuries until it ends 95 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,239 Speaker 1: up with a coin collector. This is obviously a fictional story, 96 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: but it's also deeply grounded in history, complete with footnotes. 97 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: The Adventures of a Coin came out serially in three 98 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: issues of the journal La Famia and May, June, and 99 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 1: July of eighteen seventy. Throughout her teens, Violet was ambitious, precocious, 100 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: and very focused. She kept on writing and getting her 101 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: work published, and in eighteen seventy three, when she was seventeen, 102 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: her family finally settled down into a permanent home, and 103 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: that home was in Florence, Italy. They moved into a 104 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: different house in Florence, known as Il Palmerino in eighty 105 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: two that is, weirdly lived for the rest of her life. 106 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: A big part in this shift from their perpetual wandering 107 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: to staying put was that Violet's mother had finally gotten 108 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: that inheritance she was owned, so now they could afford 109 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: all the associated costs that came along with maintaining a household. 110 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: They still didn't have a ton of money, though. One 111 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: of the reasons that they were in Florence was because 112 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: Italy was considered to be the cheapest place to live. 113 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 1: But another big part of it was that Eugene had 114 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: become seriously ill. He had started to experience an unexplained paralysis, 115 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,599 Speaker 1: and so the family put down roots and he moved 116 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: home to be cared for by his mother and his sister. 117 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: Violet had enjoyed many of the places that they had 118 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: lived over all those years, but she really really loved Italy, 119 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: and to her it was just home. Violet adopted the 120 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: pseudonym Vernon Lee in eighteen seventy five, at the age 121 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: of nineteen, after her family had been living in Florence 122 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: for about two years, and we'll get to that after 123 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. By the time Violet Paget started 124 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: using the pseudonym Vernon Lee in eighteen seventy five, it 125 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: was becoming a lot more common for women to publish 126 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: their work under their own names. Her peers and the 127 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: women who were acting as her literary mentors were publishing 128 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: as themselves, and while it wasn't necessarily completely acceptable socially 129 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: for a woman to be publishing her work, it also 130 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: wasn't practically mandatory for a woman to take on a 131 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: man's name in order to get published at all. But 132 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: Paget had moved on from writing things like the adventures 133 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: of a coin, and she was embarking in the world 134 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: of art criticism and aesthetics, which is the branch of 135 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: philosophy devoted to beauty, the nature of art, and artistic appreciation. 136 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: She was writing very dense technical work on academic subjects. 137 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: She had no formal education, She was still quite young, 138 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: and she hadn't developed any kind of name or reputation 139 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:25,239 Speaker 1: for herself. In her words, written to novelist Henrietta Jenkin, quote, 140 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: no one reads a woman's writing on art, history or 141 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: aesthetics with anything but unmitigated contempt. This pen name she 142 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: adopted was the combination of Vernon because it started with 143 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 1: a V like Violet and Lee from her half brother's surname. 144 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: For a time she also used her father's initials, so 145 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: it was HP Vernon Lee. The first time she used 146 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: the pseudonym was in a series of articles and the 147 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,239 Speaker 1: Italian journal Law revised to Europea or the European Magazine. 148 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: After those first articles as Vernon Lee, she never published 149 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: as Violet Paget again, even after people made connection that 150 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: Vernon Lee and Violet Paget were one and the same. 151 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: She did, however, use both names in her personal life, 152 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: including signing some letters with one name and others with 153 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: the other. The name Vernon Lee became increasingly recognized, though, 154 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: so going forward, we're going to use that name for 155 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,559 Speaker 1: the rest of the podcast. Yeah, people handle her name differently. 156 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: Some people say Vernon Lee throughout one of the biographies 157 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: that I read, switched back and forth between whether they 158 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,839 Speaker 1: were talking about her formal work or her social life. 159 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: Very interesting, I understand the idea, But yeah, it seems 160 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: like she was very fluid with both names. Yeah, but 161 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: for the interest of clarity, it's probably easiest to just 162 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,839 Speaker 1: pick one and run with. Flipping back and forth in 163 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: an audio podcast seemed like it would be more confusing 164 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: than not. Regardless, though, eighteen eighty was a busy year 165 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: for Vernon Lee. She was twenty four and she published 166 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: a work called Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy. 167 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 1: Some of this book had been previously published a standalone essays, 168 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: and it was an exploration of eighteenth century Italian literature, theater, 169 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: and music, including opera and comedia dell arte. It was 170 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: deeply informed by years of trawling through bookstalls and libraries 171 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: looking for old copies of eighteenth century material. It was 172 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:25,559 Speaker 1: also informed by Lee's study of and thoughts on esthetics, 173 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 1: and by her study of music. She had actually given 174 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: up music lessons when she was younger because she just 175 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: wasn't very good at it, and then she started them 176 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: again while working on this book so that she could 177 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: appreciate the technical elements of what she was writing about. 178 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: This book took English readers on a tour of eighteenth 179 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: century Italy, and it was very popular and generally well reviewed. 180 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: Its content and its reception also gave her access to 181 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: some prestigious artistic and literary circles. It was one of 182 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: the things that helped her develop an extensive network among 183 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: some of the foremost Victorian writers, artists, and philosophers. Yeah, 184 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: one of the things that people comment on about Vernon 185 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: Lee a lot, besides her writing is this extensive network 186 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: of basically everybody that was a prominent person in the 187 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: whole literary, artistic, and philosophical world at the time. She 188 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: she knew practically everyone. She also started a relationship with 189 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: another young writer named Mary Robinson. In eighty Robinson was 190 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,439 Speaker 1: invited to stay with the Pagests in Florence, and soon 191 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: she was spending every autumn in Florence with Lee, and 192 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: Lee was spending every summer in London with her. Robinson 193 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: and Lee spent a lot of their time together working 194 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: side by sign, but Robinson's family was not particularly enthusiastic 195 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:47,319 Speaker 1: about this relationship. This was a time when romantic friendships 196 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: were common and not particularly stigmatized, and at least at first, 197 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: nothing more was suspected. But Lee could be catty and tactless, 198 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: which the Robinson's simply did not approve of, and they 199 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,839 Speaker 1: also somewhat taken advantage of, since it was through them 200 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: that Lee was meeting a lot of publishers for her work. 201 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty one, Lee published a work called Belcaro 202 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: being Essays on Sundry Aesthetical Questions, which she dedicated to 203 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: Mary Robinson. The set of essays was very heavily influenced 204 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: by the esthetic philosophy of Walter Pater, who Lee met 205 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: that same year. Peter became one of Lee's very few 206 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: close male friends. In general, she had several close women friends, 207 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: almost no close male friends. He was also a huge 208 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: influence on her work. Leah was also for a time 209 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: friends with novelist Henry James. There's some speculation that James 210 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: wrote her into his novel Roderick Hudson, but she was 211 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: only nineteen when that book came out, so the timing 212 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,080 Speaker 1: doesn't quite add up with when she then had access 213 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: to all of these people, But they were friends and 214 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: correspondence by the eighteen eighties. On September four, James wrote 215 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: a letter in which he said, quote, I don't think 216 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 1: I think Violet Paget great, but I think her a 217 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: most astounding young female and Euphorian, most fascinating and suggestive, 218 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:16,319 Speaker 1: as well as monstrous clever. She has prodigious cerebration. Euphorian's 219 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: full title was Euphorian being Studies of the Antique and 220 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,679 Speaker 1: Medieval in the Renaissance. It was similar to the eighteenth 221 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: Century Italy Book, but about the Medieval and Renaissance periods. 222 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: I love she has prodigious cerebration. But that same year, 223 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: also in eighteen eighty four, Lee published her first novel, 224 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: which was called Miss Brown. She and Henry James had 225 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: been corresponding while she was working on it, and James 226 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: knew that Lee was planning to dedicate it to him, 227 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: but when it came out he didn't like it. That's awkward. Uh. 228 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: He never related told Lee what he thought about it. 229 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: He sort of anst around his criticisms once he eventually 230 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,719 Speaker 1: wrote her a letter, but before he did that, he 231 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: told basically everyone else how bad he thought it was. 232 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: In one letter, he wrote, quote, as I told you, 233 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: my modest name is on the dedication page, and my 234 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: tongue is therefore tied in speaking of it, at least generally. 235 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: But I may whisper in your ear that, as it 236 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: is her first attempt at a novel, so it is 237 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: to be hoped it may be her last. It is 238 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: very bad, strangely inferior to her other writing, and to 239 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: me at least painfully disagreeable in tone. Henry James was 240 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: not alone in this opinion. Overall, Miss Brown was very 241 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: widely panned. It was basically a Pygmalion story about a 242 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 1: poet and painter who finds the eponymous Anne Brown, who 243 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: was a servant girl, and he educates her with the 244 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: intention of marrying her, and so a lot of the 245 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: novel hinges on her decision and her deliberation of whether 246 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: she wants to marry him or not. Lee just didn't 247 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: put much separation between the real world inspirations for her characters. 248 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: And the characters themselves. It satirized the aesthetic movement that 249 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: was playing out in London, and there were a lot 250 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: of unflattering characters in the novel who had real life counterparts, 251 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: including Oscar Wilde that as a person I would not 252 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: want to make an enemy of Frankly Uh. These counterparts 253 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: were so obvious that people also interpreted similarities that weren't 254 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: intentional as being about them. People were particularly annoyed because 255 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: Lee was a relative newcomer to the London scene, so 256 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: they didn't think she had enough experience with it to 257 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: be justified in her criticisms. Lee also saw still more 258 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: controversy in eighty four with her publication of the Countess 259 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: of Albany, which was a biography of Charles Edward Stewart's 260 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: wife Louise. People were outraged over this biography because Lee 261 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: wrote about the Countess sympathetically, and she spelled out how 262 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: she was living at a time and in a place 263 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: where it was normal and expected or a woman to 264 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: have a lover. But to her English audience, the Countess 265 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: was just an adulteress who deserved neither sympathy nor respect. 266 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: Lee was still reeling from all this criticism when Mary 267 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: Robinson married James Darmastator in seven ending their seven year relationship. 268 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: Darmastator had read and appreciated some of Robinson's work, and 269 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: they had gotten engaged after corresponding for just a few months. 270 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: No one except the couple was in favor of this match. 271 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: The Padgets had really taken for granted that Robinson would 272 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: never marry and that her relationship with Lee would just 273 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: go on indefinitely. The Robinson's disapproved because Dharmastator was Jewish, 274 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: from a poor family, and disabled due to a spinal 275 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: disease he had had as a child. Also, a whole 276 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: lot of people pointed out that they had only met 277 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: in person like three times before they got engaged. I 278 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: am not in a position to judge that. Uh. Lee 279 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: was absolutely Lee heartbroken when Robinson married, but almost immediately 280 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: she began a new relationship with Clementina and Strucor Thompson, 281 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: who was known as Kit. It is not clear whether 282 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: she pronounced this Ainster and Strucor or some other variation. 283 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: She was from Scotland, and there is a town in 284 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 1: Scotland where locals say Ainster but everyone else does not. 285 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:28,120 Speaker 1: So apologies if I have offended anyone's ear. We don't 286 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: mean to make your ears bleed when we say this name, 287 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 1: and Strether Thompson basically waited out the end of Lee's 288 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,439 Speaker 1: relationship with Mary Robinson. Lee had asked her mother to 289 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: invite Anstruther Thompson to stay with them in Florence once 290 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,919 Speaker 1: she heard about this engagement. Once the rest of the 291 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: padgets also knew about the engagement, she asked again, saying, quote, 292 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: you will understand now why it would make me utterly 293 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: miserable if I were not permitted to have this woman 294 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 1: in Florence. And answer there. Thompson patiently tended Lee through 295 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: her heartbreak. Robinson's wedding was in March of eight eight, 296 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 1: and by about June and st The Thompson had taken 297 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: her place in Vernon Lee's life. This was a turning 298 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: point in Lee's life. And we're going to get to 299 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,360 Speaker 1: the next phase and those ghost stories we promised you 300 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:23,440 Speaker 1: after we first have a little bit of a sponsor break. 301 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,719 Speaker 1: Even though she was bolstered through her relationship with kit 302 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: Aster The Thompson, Vernon Lee's output really dipped for a 303 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: while after Mary Robinson announced her engagement in eight seven, 304 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: Lee had always been prone to anxiety and illnesses, and 305 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: over the years she had also had a series of 306 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: mental breakdowns, but those years after Robinson got engaged and 307 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: married were particularly hard. For almost ten years. A lot 308 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,120 Speaker 1: of her publications, especially the more academic ones, were previously 309 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 1: published essays. This was, however, when she wrote most of 310 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,680 Speaker 1: her supernatural stories. This wasn't totally new territory for her. 311 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: Earlier in the show, we mentioned her collection of essays 312 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:14,159 Speaker 1: Belkaro being essays on sundry aesthetical questions from back in 313 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: one and one of the essays was Faustus and Helena 314 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,120 Speaker 1: Notes on the supernatural in art. Here's a quote from 315 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: that quote. We none of us believe in ghosts as 316 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,440 Speaker 1: logical possibilities, but we most of us conceive them as 317 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: imaginative probabilities. We can still feel the ghostly, and thence 318 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: it is that a ghost is the only thing which can, 319 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: in any respect replace for us the divinities of old 320 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: and enable us to understand, if only for a minute, 321 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: the imaginative power which they possessed, and of which they 322 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:51,679 Speaker 1: were despoiled not only by logic but by art. By ghost. 323 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: We do not mean the vulgar apparition which is seen 324 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: or heard in told or written tales. We mean the ghost, 325 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: which slowly rises is up in our mind, the haunter 326 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: not of corridors and staircases, but of our fancies and 327 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 1: a t nine, Lee published a collection of four supernatural 328 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: stories called Hauntings, and the preface runs along a very 329 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: similar theme to that earlier essay. She writes about the 330 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 1: trope of the horrible family secret that's revealed to every 331 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,719 Speaker 1: member of the family on their twenty one birthday, quote 332 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: so terrible as to overshadow his subsequent life. She writes 333 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: about how the dread of this terrible secret is so 334 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: much worse than whatever the reality can be. She goes 335 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: on to say that quote, it seems to me that 336 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: the supernatural, in order to call forth these sensations terrible 337 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:49,400 Speaker 1: to our ancestors and terrible but delicious to ourselves, skeptical 338 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: posterity must necessarily, and with few exceptions, remain en wrapped 339 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: in mystery. She ends the preface, Hence, my four little 340 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,919 Speaker 1: tale are of no genuine ghosts in the scientific sense. 341 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,240 Speaker 1: They tell of no hauntings such as could be contributed 342 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: by the Society of Psychical Research, of no specters that 343 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,200 Speaker 1: can be caught in definite places and made to dictate 344 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: judicial evidence. My ghosts are what you call spurious ghosts, 345 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: according to me, the only genuine ones of whom I 346 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 1: can affirm only one thing, that they haunted certain brains 347 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: and have haunted, among others, my own and my friends. 348 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: The stories in her collection, along with most of her 349 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:37,160 Speaker 1: other supernatural stories, piece together events that are increasingly odd 350 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 1: and eerie and foreboding and oppressive, and they're also really 351 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: deeply connected to the place where the story is set. 352 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 1: Oak of oak Hurst or The Phantom Lover, which was 353 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: originally published as A Phantom Lover a Fantastic Story, is 354 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: the only one of these stories that said in England, 355 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: and it's set in a creepy old manor house. It 356 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 1: draws off from a lot of the tropes of an 357 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:00,840 Speaker 1: English story set in a creepy old manner else but 358 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: the rest are said in Italy, Spain or Germany, and 359 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: they draw extensively from history and myth and folklore, and 360 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: often there's an underpinning of some fictional historical facts that 361 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: are pointed out as facts, and they make it seem 362 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 1: more real. A few examples of these stories which were 363 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: mostly written between eighteen eighty nine and nineteen o two. 364 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 1: Uh amor Dure is written in the form of a diary. 365 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: It is about a historian who becomes increasingly fixated on 366 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: and enamored with a historical woman he is researching named 367 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: Medeia Dacarpi. Dianea is a series of letters detailing these 368 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 1: strange and violent events surrounding a young girl who was 369 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: the only survivor of a shipwreck. Prince Alberic and the 370 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: Snake Lady features a young boy who becomes more and 371 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,400 Speaker 1: more preoccupied with a story about how his namesake ancestor 372 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: rescued a woman from being enchanted as a snake, which 373 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: was also depicted on a tapestry in his grandfather's home. 374 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 1: Just as a side note, Vernon Lee's half brother, Eugene 375 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: Lee Hamilton's was a writer as well. He also wrote 376 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:08,879 Speaker 1: gothic and supernatural stories. Others his tended to be a 377 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,879 Speaker 1: lot more lurid and a lot less psychological than his sisters. 378 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:14,919 Speaker 1: I read a couple of these stories while I was 379 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 1: working on this. I feel like they hold up pretty well, 380 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: hers or his or both hers. I did not read 381 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,719 Speaker 1: any of his Gotcha. I just read there the description 382 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 1: that in general, they tended to be a lot more, 383 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: a lot more along the lines of here is the 384 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: creepy ghost obviously supernatural happening, while Lee's tended to be 385 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: more like, there's some unexplained elements here, but this person 386 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,919 Speaker 1: is also being tormented by their own mind. Right, and 387 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: ghost stories were not the only thing that Lee was 388 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: writing at the end of the nineteenth century. In two 389 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: she wrote the story that finally put the nail in 390 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 1: the coffin of her friendship with Henry James, who was 391 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: called Lady Tal, and they came out in a collection 392 00:23:55,080 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: called Vanitas Polite Stories. Lady Tall included a transparent an 393 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,720 Speaker 1: unflattering fictionalization of Henry James, and this time James did 394 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: not read it. He heard about it, decided he would 395 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 1: rather not know, and that he was done. He later 396 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,360 Speaker 1: wrote his brother in a letter in which he said 397 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: it was quote particularly impudent and blaggardly sort of thing 398 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,479 Speaker 1: to do to a friend, and one who has treated 399 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:23,239 Speaker 1: her with such particular consideration as I have. She's a 400 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: tiger cat, which to me is like a great compliment. 401 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 1: But that's maybe not what he intended. Vernon Lee and 402 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: Kit anstrutherir Thompson also worked together on a theory of 403 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: aesthetics at the end of the nineteenth century. It was 404 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,959 Speaker 1: drawn from Kit's own awareness of her body's physical responses 405 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 1: while looking at art. This was connected to the German 406 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: concept of in fuelung or feeling into It's one of 407 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:52,400 Speaker 1: the first English language explorations of the idea of empathy 408 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 1: and the context of aesthetics. They published an essay on 409 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: this work that was called Beauty and Ugliness. In was 410 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,639 Speaker 1: rooted in the idea that these physical responses are the 411 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: work of a person's body subconsciously mimicking or living through 412 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:13,479 Speaker 1: what you're seeing in the art. This was unfortunately the 413 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: end of their relationship as well. Art historian and critic 414 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: Bernard Berenson had been working on some similar ideas, and 415 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: he accused both women of plagiarism. He later admitted that 416 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,439 Speaker 1: his accusations had been baseless, but the stress of the 417 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: accusation took such a tool on Anstruther Thompson that she 418 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 1: had a mental breakdown. She went back to Scotland shortly 419 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: before Beauty and Ugliness was published. Although this wasn't amicable 420 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,199 Speaker 1: split and the two women stayed in touch for the 421 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: rest of kid's life. This was the third in a 422 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: series of upsets for Lee that came pretty closely together. 423 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 1: Her friend and mentor, Walter Pater, died in her mother 424 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: died in and with her mother's death, Lee took on 425 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: the primary responsibility for caring for her other Eugene, who 426 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: was still very ill. This was something that she continued 427 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: to do until he got married in he just noted 428 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: died in seven. To console herself through all of this, 429 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: Lee also turned to travel writing. She traveled extensively around Europe, 430 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 1: although mostly took conventional places, and she seemed to find 431 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: some comfort in writing about it, and she bought Il 432 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 1: pal Marino in nineteen o six. By the nineteen teens, 433 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: Lee had worked in so many fields and across so 434 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: many genres. There was art, history, art criticism, history, philosophy, fiction, 435 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: and on and and on and on. Both she and 436 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: her mother had also been ardent anti vivisectionists and campaigners 437 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 1: for animal rights. But as World War One approached, Lee 438 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 1: increasingly focused on advocating pacifism, including writing anti war literature, 439 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: and this was of course highly criticized, and even among pacifists, 440 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: Lee was something of a loner. She distance herself from 441 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: people whose pacifism was radical or religiously motivated, and she 442 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: was isolated from her home as well. She was in 443 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 1: England when the war began in nineteen fourteen, and she 444 00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: wasn't able to get back to Italy until after it 445 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: was over. During the war, she joined and wrote for 446 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: the Union of Democratic Control or the u d C. 447 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: The u DC was a British organization that called for 448 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: reduced armaments and the creation of an organization among European 449 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:32,120 Speaker 1: nations designed to prevent future warfare, along with a treaty 450 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: at the end of the war that did not redraw 451 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: all the borders or humiliate the defeated nations. Of course, 452 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,879 Speaker 1: the Treaty of Versailles did the opposite, and Lee, having 453 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 1: lived in Germany at several points in her life, was 454 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: just certain that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles 455 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: that were meant to punish Germany, we're really going to 456 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: cause and not prevent, future conflict. Because she knew what 457 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: she was talking about. She did. Most of Lee's writing 458 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: during and after World War One was about pacifism. In 459 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, she wrote an allegory called the ballet of 460 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:10,399 Speaker 1: Nations of present day morality, and in nineteen twenties she 461 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: published Satan the Waiter of Philosophic War trilogy. But by 462 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: this point both she and her output were slowing down. 463 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: She was getting older, and although she was still able 464 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: to travel once the war ended, she typically only went 465 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 1: to places that she had been before. In nineteen twenty, 466 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: Lee realized that the main villa at il Palmrino had 467 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: become much too big for her, and rather than sell 468 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,919 Speaker 1: the whole property, she moved into one of the cottages 469 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: there that a friend had rented from her and improved. 470 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: It was the sort of property that had a main 471 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: villa and then several farm cottages that tenant farmers could 472 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 1: live in, and she moved into one of those that 473 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 1: had been fixed up a bit. When Kit answer to 474 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 1: their Thompson died in one Lee became her literary executor. 475 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: Mary Robinson was also widowed, remarried, and then widowed again, 476 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 1: but she and Lee never really rekindled their relationship. During 477 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: her fifty three years writing, Vernon Lee wrote more than 478 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: thirty works of non fiction, four novels, four volumes of 479 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: short stories, and a play, as well as essays and letters. 480 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: This was a massive output, especially considering that some of 481 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 1: it was very dense and academic and she had no 482 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: formal education. She also had ongoing relationships and lengthy correspondences 483 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: with people like H. G. Wells, Edith Wharton, and Mary Cassatt. 484 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: She died in Italy on February five. She'd become chronically ill, 485 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,480 Speaker 1: and she had lost most of her hearing. Not long 486 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: before her death, she told her own literary executor that 487 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,120 Speaker 1: she felt like quote an alien, having no ties either 488 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: of nation, blood, class, or profession. The older she got, 489 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: the more she felt like she had just sort of 490 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 1: been born in the slightly wrong era. She wished she 491 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: had been born a little later, and then she could 492 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: have been like a modern woman of letters, rather than 493 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: being the sort of odd Victorian outlier. A lot of 494 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: her papers are at Colby College in Maine, which is 495 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: kind of ironic because she never traveled to the U S. 496 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: Having lived through World War One, she was very concerned 497 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 1: about the idea of her work being destroyed in a war, 498 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: and her literary executor, Irene Cooper Willis, decided Colby would 499 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,960 Speaker 1: be the safest place today. A lot of Lee's work 500 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,479 Speaker 1: and aesthetics seems somewhat dated, but a lot of her 501 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: other work, especially her histories and her supernatural stories, have 502 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: held up a lot better. Those supernatural stories have variously 503 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: been reissued, and some have been included in collections into 504 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 1: the twentieth century. You can also find a ton of 505 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:48,520 Speaker 1: this work on the internet for free. The Stories Hauntings 506 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: is available I think at Project Guttenberg pretty easily um 507 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: and is a fun collection of ghostly short stories to read. 508 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 1: Some of the other work is again very dense, especially 509 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: the more philosophical stuff. Do you have some listener mail 510 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: for us today? Hi? Sure do? I have two quick 511 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 1: emails that are both about air conditioning and school. What 512 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,920 Speaker 1: is from Mary? Mary says greeting Stracy and Holly. I 513 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: was listening to your A C podcast while getting ready 514 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: for work, and I just had to tell you what's 515 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 1: happening right now. I, like both of you, grew up 516 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: in the South. My classrooms had window units and the 517 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 1: halls were oppressive, with the exception of a newer building 518 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 1: with central air. My glasses, which were new to me 519 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: my junior year, fogged up when I went from the 520 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: classrooms to the halls. I live in central Pennsylvania now 521 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 1: and school just started. While we've had a very wet summer, 522 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 1: we've just hit a bit of a heat wave and 523 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: three days in several schools were having early dismissal because 524 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: of the heat and the lack of a c in schools. 525 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:58,360 Speaker 1: You couldn't have timed this podcast better. She uh makes 526 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: a note about the idea of a episode suggestion, and 527 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: then says thanks for all the great stories you share, Mary, 528 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,600 Speaker 1: and then on a similar note, we have one that 529 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,480 Speaker 1: is from Sally, and Sally says, Hi, Holly and Tracy, 530 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:11,320 Speaker 1: I love your show. I was listening to the episode 531 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: on air conditioning and had to write in when I 532 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,240 Speaker 1: heard you talking about your schools having or not having 533 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: air conditioning. I am from Australia, where the summer days 534 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: regularly reached thirty six degrees celsius, and went to high 535 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: school from two thousand three. No air conditioning is pretty 536 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: standard in Australian schools. Even my expensive private high school 537 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 1: had only one building that was air conditioned. There's an 538 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,320 Speaker 1: urban myth popular with Australian school children that if it 539 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,960 Speaker 1: gets over forty degrees celsius, everyone gets to go home 540 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,479 Speaker 1: from school. To my knowledge, that has never actually happened, 541 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: although there are always rumors that it happened once in Melbourne, 542 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: so it may just be true. And then the letter 543 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 1: says it's a hot, dry heat, and Melbourne not muggy 544 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 1: and human like it is here. I know I don't 545 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: sound like an Australian person when I say the name 546 00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: of that city. By the way, anyway, I just thought 547 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: you might find this thing I'm using best Sally. Thank 548 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,160 Speaker 1: you so much Sally and Mary for sending these notes. 549 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: I was particularly delighted because we've got a several emails 550 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: that were all about air conditioning in school, and because 551 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:13,560 Speaker 1: Mary was talking about how hot it was when this 552 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: episode came out. I recorded the air conditioning episode with 553 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: ice packs literally held onto my body because it was 554 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 1: so hot. Um because like to record a podcast, you 555 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,240 Speaker 1: have to be in a quiet place, which means closing 556 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:28,360 Speaker 1: all the doors and windows and everything. And then the 557 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 1: day that the episode came out, it was just as 558 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: hot as as it had been the day that we 559 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,479 Speaker 1: recorded it. So that day I think we didn't I 560 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 1: wasn't recording anything that day. I was able to like 561 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 1: hide in an in an air conditioned place from the heat, 562 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 1: so uh. Thanks to everyone who has written to us 563 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 1: about air conditioning in or not in their schools. If 564 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us about this or 565 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,280 Speaker 1: any other podcast, where a history podcast at how stuff 566 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,280 Speaker 1: works dot com. And then we are all over social 567 00:33:57,280 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 1: media as miss in History. That's where you'll find our 568 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 1: Facebook and our Twitter, and our Instagram and our Pinterest. 569 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: You can come to our website which is missed in 570 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: History dot com, or you will find show notes for 571 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: the episodes that Holly and I have worked on together 572 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:13,319 Speaker 1: that will include some links to Vernon Lee's various work 573 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,840 Speaker 1: in this one. You can also find a searchable archive 574 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,319 Speaker 1: of every episode ever and you can do all of 575 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,840 Speaker 1: that at Miston history dot com. And you can subscribe 576 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,920 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple podcasts and Google podcasts and 577 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 1: wherever else you get your podcasts. For more on this 578 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:34,279 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how staff works dot 579 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: com