Lady Cynthia Asquith
Lady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Asquith (née Charteris; 27 September 1887 – 31 March 1960) was an English writer and socialite, known for her ghost stories and diaries. She also wrote novels, edited a number of anthologies, wrote for children and covered the British Royal family. Early life Lady Cynthia was born at Clouds House, East Knoyle, Wiltshire on 27 September 1887, one of seven children of Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857–1937), and Mary Constance Wyndham, of The Souls fame. Among her siblings were Hugo Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho (who married Lady Violet Manners, the daughter of Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland, and was killed in action in the Great War), Guy Lawrence Charteris, Colin Charteris (who died young), Lady Mary Charteris (wife of Capt. Algernon Walter Strickland and, after his death, John George Lyon), Yvo Alan Charteris (also killed in action during the Great War), and Lady Irene Charteris (wife of Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth). Her paternal grandparents were Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss and his first wife Lady Anne Frederica Anson (second daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield). Her maternal grandparents were Capt. Hon. Percy Scawen Wyndham MP for Cumberland West (second son of George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield), and the former Madeleine Eden Campbell (sixth daughter of Maj.-Gen. Sir Guy Campbell, 1st Baronet). Career In 1913, Asquith met D. H. Lawrence in Margate and became a friend and correspondent. She took a position as secretary to the Peter Pan creator J. M. Barrie, with whom she became close friends, continuing to work for him until his death in 1937. Barrie left most of his estate to her, except for the Peter Pan works. Author L. P. Hartley became a lifelong friend after they met in the early 1920s. Asquith became known for editing The Ghost Book, an anthology of supernatural fiction, including work by D. H. Lawrence, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, Oliver Onions, and May Sinclair. One of Asquith's stories, "The Follower", was adapted for BBC Radio, along with others by Algernon Blackwood, Marjorie Bowen, and Noel Streatfeild; all were later reprinted in the Cecil Madden anthology My Grimmest Nightmare (1935). She contributed to the screenplay of the 1937 film Dreaming Lips, which starred Elisabeth Bergner. In 1957, Asquith appeared as a contestant in the ITV Quiz show 64,000 Question (hosted by Jerry Desmonde) where she won the top prize of £3,200 answering questions on the works of Jane Austen. Personal life On 28 July 1910, Lady Cynthia married Herbert Asquith (1881–1947), second son of H. H. Asquith, the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916, with whom he is sometimes confused. They had three children: John Michael Asquith (1911–1937), who suffered mental problems and died in an institution. Michael Henry Asquith (1914–2004), who married in 1938 Diana Eveline Montagu Battye, daughter of Lt.-Col. Perceval Lawrence Montagu Battye. They divorced in 1952; he married secondly Helga Brigitta Ebba Elizabeth Ritter, daughter of Dr Walther Sigmund