The syphilis problem was made worse by nineteenth century doctors who were a) paid for by husbands and lovers (and therefore answerable to them); b) often fooled into thinking the disease was in remission because of the way symptoms manifested themselves, c) didn’t think VD a suitable subject to broach with young women and d) kept confidential the fact that husbands and lovers slept around. The fact that it could be passed on to future generations was the subject of a play by Ibsen (Ghosts 1882).
I’m going to finish reading both parts of your piece and would like to come back to you, if I may. You mention things that I did not know (Wyndhham’s hare lip, for example) and there are other aspects of the story I want to know more about (I have slight knowledge of the background of Rowland Hughes, enough to make him intriguing). The other very interesting character in Agnes’ story was her mother. She knew about hypocrisy amongst men, and especially the upper classes. Agnes' 'Protector' at the time she met Wyndham was Sir Travers Twiss, QC (who went on to marry Maria Gelas, a fellow courtesan and disguise her as a foreign aristocrat - another fascinating story which unravelled in court). Travers Twiss set Agnes up with a flat on Park Lane and paid her £8000 when they parted.
General Sir Charles Wyndham who petitioned for De Lunatico Inquirendo did not appear at the trial himself because he was keeping a low profile (apparently having been arrested by the police for flashing at women in Hyde Park).
O, I am wholly on the side of Agnes! Her offence was to lose her father at a young age and having to choose either to commit herself, her mother, and her sisters to the workhouse (records in Weymouth were burned in a fire) or to embark on a career as a pretty horse breaker, protected by rich and influential men. She was no fool.
Thank you, Helen! I am thrilled to hear this. As you can see, I spent a lot of time with Agnes, finding out how her life unfolded. It's precisely what she insisted on doing for her sisters and family that impressed me – she wanted more for them. I did not know she was also influential in changing such an important piece of regulation, either! That's certainly something I missed and would like to know more about. The Wyndham Trial seems to still be studied in legal history but not this second chapter of Agnes' life. The detail of Wyndham giving her syphilis was the tiny, single sentence that was missing from one newspaper account but found in another. No wonder she extracted such a price from him – she had much to lose, and did lose it, sadly.
I found one unclear mention that she had been in a workhouse but the pandemic was in full swing so I couldn't travel over to check – I would have been in the wrong part of the country, too! I found out about the later scandal involving Twiss and his wife... I find it interesting that Agnes is sort of the "bad horsebreaker" while Skittles is the "good" one, or perhaps, more likely, the lucky one. And Skittles came from a somewhat more stable, though still working class background – she had something to fall back on, unlike Agnes. The earlier court case involving Agnes' mother also intrigued me, too. Was it her or Agnes or both who were behind the initial "decision" to set Agnes on that path? I don't know if you have read Hallie Rubenhold's The Five?
I found a Police Report on Agnes (written retrospectively), which mentioned her working as a ladies maid as you write, but there were other facts in that same report that were untrue so it's difficult to say. My original understanding was she took up with someone from the regiment stationed at Weymouth around the time she lived there. Her older half brother, George, went to live and work in London (mum, Ann, was married at least three times) so she was not without family there.
I found Agnes' birth certificate and looked the family up on the census. I also found her father's death record, Agnes' Will (written in Boulogne sur Mer) and her grave (she's buried with Mum and Thirza). What makes you think her original name was Caroline? I haven't found any mention of that.
Interestingly the family's next door neighbour in Weymouth managed the stables in town (see census). Agnes became a very accomplished horsewoman, specializing in training horses to side saddle. When she was in London, she would demonstrate these skills to men who came to buy horses for their wives.
The George Walker account is shrouded in mystery, all the more so because we (the family) weren't able to find him in emigration records. He was quite a bit older than Agnes. I think she only married him because there were threats to take away her son and make him a Ward of Court. I too heard tales of him robbing her of all her jewellery and making off to Australia. Strange then that Agnes' jewellery is seen in later photographs of her, is the subject of many letters at Norwich Record Office, and featured in her Will! Either way, George was never seen or heard of again and the marriage was annulled on grounds of desertion. My brother in law (a Judge) found the details about the Married Women's Property Act. Agnes is cited as an example of why the law needed to change.
You are the first person I've heard talk of George Walker as 'agent of Hanworth'. I knew he was local and had his fingers in a number of pies (I also heard he owned a pub) but didn't know about the link with Hanworth.
There is something very strange indeed about Agnes' Will. It's been written by someone who doesn't know the family that well. Some of the names are wrong, including her own sister's. I have recently moved house so I need to dig out all this detail.
I haven't read The Five, by the way. Is that the book about making real the lives of the prostitutes killed by Jack the Ripper?
Yes, The Five is about the women Jack the Ripper killed. Hallie believes most of them were not sex workers but just sleeping rough when they were killed – she does a great job of winkling out facts and sifting through the misogyny of the original police and press reports. She points out what is missing and what people have been basing their judgments on for years. It's truly a master class.
I wrote this piece about Agnes in 2018, so I would have to dig up my notes to answer your questions. I see it now – and all the work I did on her life – as a stepping stone in understanding how to write biography, and especially biographies of those who did not leave behind much in their own voices. I learned a lot in the process while also thinking a lot about how such a life could be a substantial book and how such a book could be written. I took down most of the Amazons of Paris essays on this Substack in order to focus on the book, otherwise I would link you to one about the unreliability of newspaper reports! I'm finding that there is very little that's definitive – the women I write about were real but have become fictional in a way. I'm writing a very different kind of book about them.
I *think* most of the material about George came from local papers in Norfolk. I kept the notes in Scrivener and have not updated the app or used it for later projects. I will seek out the Caroline reference, but it is likely a combination of overly trusting a journalist and not being able to travel to archives to check.
Thank you! The story takes quite a journey from here. And what a wealth of words there are to describe women who step outside convention. I love the French terms horizontale and poule de luxe too.
Agnes, or Great Aunt Agnes, was a relative of mine. Her riding habit used to hang in the wardrobe of a house inhabited by her nieces in Sidmouth. We have a number of her things, including the lock of hair Wyndham cut off in a jealous rage, r opera glasses, and a selection of canes belonging to her various lovers. AG is inscribed on one: Antonio Guiglini, her great love.
We have much to thank Agnes for. She educated and provided for her sisters and brother; she ensured that her nephews and nieces were looked after financially (most ended up in Canada) and (little known) her suit against George Walker resulted in changes to the law (Married Women's Property Act 1882).
Sadly her one child, Frederick, was blighted by the syphillis given to Agnes by Wyndham (yes, it was that way round). He shot himself.
Agnes' last husband (the enigmatic Rowland Hughes, son of a chemist and best friend to Henry Denney (Felbrigg Estate Manager who married Agnes' sister, Emma) also left for Canada (lying about his age on the emigration forms). Scandalously he married Agnes' niece, Beatrice, and had two children by her.
I like the way you write, Susanna. And well researched.
Thank you, Helen! I am thrilled to hear this. As you can see, I spent a lot of time with Agnes, finding out how her life unfolded. It's precisely what she insisted on doing for her sisters and family that impressed me – she wanted more for them. I did not know she was also influential in changing such an important piece of regulation, either! That's certainly something I missed and would like to know more about. The Wyndham Trial seems to still be studied in legal history but not this second chapter of Agnes' life. The detail of Wyndham giving her syphilis was the tiny, single sentence that was missing from one newspaper account but found in another. No wonder she extracted such a price from him – she had much to lose, and did lose it, sadly.
I shall look for The Five.
You write very succinctly and with flair. I think you'll be successful whatever you turn your hand to.
The syphilis problem was made worse by nineteenth century doctors who were a) paid for by husbands and lovers (and therefore answerable to them); b) often fooled into thinking the disease was in remission because of the way symptoms manifested themselves, c) didn’t think VD a suitable subject to broach with young women and d) kept confidential the fact that husbands and lovers slept around. The fact that it could be passed on to future generations was the subject of a play by Ibsen (Ghosts 1882).
I’m going to finish reading both parts of your piece and would like to come back to you, if I may. You mention things that I did not know (Wyndhham’s hare lip, for example) and there are other aspects of the story I want to know more about (I have slight knowledge of the background of Rowland Hughes, enough to make him intriguing). The other very interesting character in Agnes’ story was her mother. She knew about hypocrisy amongst men, and especially the upper classes. Agnes' 'Protector' at the time she met Wyndham was Sir Travers Twiss, QC (who went on to marry Maria Gelas, a fellow courtesan and disguise her as a foreign aristocrat - another fascinating story which unravelled in court). Travers Twiss set Agnes up with a flat on Park Lane and paid her £8000 when they parted.
General Sir Charles Wyndham who petitioned for De Lunatico Inquirendo did not appear at the trial himself because he was keeping a low profile (apparently having been arrested by the police for flashing at women in Hyde Park).
O, I am wholly on the side of Agnes! Her offence was to lose her father at a young age and having to choose either to commit herself, her mother, and her sisters to the workhouse (records in Weymouth were burned in a fire) or to embark on a career as a pretty horse breaker, protected by rich and influential men. She was no fool.
Thank you, Helen! I am thrilled to hear this. As you can see, I spent a lot of time with Agnes, finding out how her life unfolded. It's precisely what she insisted on doing for her sisters and family that impressed me – she wanted more for them. I did not know she was also influential in changing such an important piece of regulation, either! That's certainly something I missed and would like to know more about. The Wyndham Trial seems to still be studied in legal history but not this second chapter of Agnes' life. The detail of Wyndham giving her syphilis was the tiny, single sentence that was missing from one newspaper account but found in another. No wonder she extracted such a price from him – she had much to lose, and did lose it, sadly.
I found one unclear mention that she had been in a workhouse but the pandemic was in full swing so I couldn't travel over to check – I would have been in the wrong part of the country, too! I found out about the later scandal involving Twiss and his wife... I find it interesting that Agnes is sort of the "bad horsebreaker" while Skittles is the "good" one, or perhaps, more likely, the lucky one. And Skittles came from a somewhat more stable, though still working class background – she had something to fall back on, unlike Agnes. The earlier court case involving Agnes' mother also intrigued me, too. Was it her or Agnes or both who were behind the initial "decision" to set Agnes on that path? I don't know if you have read Hallie Rubenhold's The Five?
I found a Police Report on Agnes (written retrospectively), which mentioned her working as a ladies maid as you write, but there were other facts in that same report that were untrue so it's difficult to say. My original understanding was she took up with someone from the regiment stationed at Weymouth around the time she lived there. Her older half brother, George, went to live and work in London (mum, Ann, was married at least three times) so she was not without family there.
I found Agnes' birth certificate and looked the family up on the census. I also found her father's death record, Agnes' Will (written in Boulogne sur Mer) and her grave (she's buried with Mum and Thirza). What makes you think her original name was Caroline? I haven't found any mention of that.
Interestingly the family's next door neighbour in Weymouth managed the stables in town (see census). Agnes became a very accomplished horsewoman, specializing in training horses to side saddle. When she was in London, she would demonstrate these skills to men who came to buy horses for their wives.
The George Walker account is shrouded in mystery, all the more so because we (the family) weren't able to find him in emigration records. He was quite a bit older than Agnes. I think she only married him because there were threats to take away her son and make him a Ward of Court. I too heard tales of him robbing her of all her jewellery and making off to Australia. Strange then that Agnes' jewellery is seen in later photographs of her, is the subject of many letters at Norwich Record Office, and featured in her Will! Either way, George was never seen or heard of again and the marriage was annulled on grounds of desertion. My brother in law (a Judge) found the details about the Married Women's Property Act. Agnes is cited as an example of why the law needed to change.
You are the first person I've heard talk of George Walker as 'agent of Hanworth'. I knew he was local and had his fingers in a number of pies (I also heard he owned a pub) but didn't know about the link with Hanworth.
There is something very strange indeed about Agnes' Will. It's been written by someone who doesn't know the family that well. Some of the names are wrong, including her own sister's. I have recently moved house so I need to dig out all this detail.
I haven't read The Five, by the way. Is that the book about making real the lives of the prostitutes killed by Jack the Ripper?
Yes, The Five is about the women Jack the Ripper killed. Hallie believes most of them were not sex workers but just sleeping rough when they were killed – she does a great job of winkling out facts and sifting through the misogyny of the original police and press reports. She points out what is missing and what people have been basing their judgments on for years. It's truly a master class.
I wrote this piece about Agnes in 2018, so I would have to dig up my notes to answer your questions. I see it now – and all the work I did on her life – as a stepping stone in understanding how to write biography, and especially biographies of those who did not leave behind much in their own voices. I learned a lot in the process while also thinking a lot about how such a life could be a substantial book and how such a book could be written. I took down most of the Amazons of Paris essays on this Substack in order to focus on the book, otherwise I would link you to one about the unreliability of newspaper reports! I'm finding that there is very little that's definitive – the women I write about were real but have become fictional in a way. I'm writing a very different kind of book about them.
I *think* most of the material about George came from local papers in Norfolk. I kept the notes in Scrivener and have not updated the app or used it for later projects. I will seek out the Caroline reference, but it is likely a combination of overly trusting a journalist and not being able to travel to archives to check.
Great piece! And thank you for a new word: I've never come across "demi-rep" before. Guess I've lived too sheltered a life.
Thank you! The story takes quite a journey from here. And what a wealth of words there are to describe women who step outside convention. I love the French terms horizontale and poule de luxe too.
Agnes, or Great Aunt Agnes, was a relative of mine. Her riding habit used to hang in the wardrobe of a house inhabited by her nieces in Sidmouth. We have a number of her things, including the lock of hair Wyndham cut off in a jealous rage, r opera glasses, and a selection of canes belonging to her various lovers. AG is inscribed on one: Antonio Guiglini, her great love.
We have much to thank Agnes for. She educated and provided for her sisters and brother; she ensured that her nephews and nieces were looked after financially (most ended up in Canada) and (little known) her suit against George Walker resulted in changes to the law (Married Women's Property Act 1882).
Sadly her one child, Frederick, was blighted by the syphillis given to Agnes by Wyndham (yes, it was that way round). He shot himself.
Agnes' last husband (the enigmatic Rowland Hughes, son of a chemist and best friend to Henry Denney (Felbrigg Estate Manager who married Agnes' sister, Emma) also left for Canada (lying about his age on the emigration forms). Scandalously he married Agnes' niece, Beatrice, and had two children by her.
I like the way you write, Susanna. And well researched.
Thank you, Helen! I am thrilled to hear this. As you can see, I spent a lot of time with Agnes, finding out how her life unfolded. It's precisely what she insisted on doing for her sisters and family that impressed me – she wanted more for them. I did not know she was also influential in changing such an important piece of regulation, either! That's certainly something I missed and would like to know more about. The Wyndham Trial seems to still be studied in legal history but not this second chapter of Agnes' life. The detail of Wyndham giving her syphilis was the tiny, single sentence that was missing from one newspaper account but found in another. No wonder she extracted such a price from him – she had much to lose, and did lose it, sadly.
Those I know, yes. And "femme galante". And here's a whack more: travailleuse du sexe, amazone, belle-de-jour, belle-de-nuit, entraîneuse, fille, fille de joie, fille des rues, fille publique, péripatéticienne, professionnelle, poule (de luxe) (familier), racoleuse (familier), tapineuse (familier), vadrouille (familier, vieux), grue (familier, péjoratif), putain (familier, péjoratif), pute (familier, péjoratif), morue (familier, injurieux), pouffiasse (familier, injurieux), roulure (familier, injurieux), traînée (familier, injurieux), paillasse (populaire, injurieux), courtisane (littéraire), demi-mondaine (littéraire), fleur de macadam (littéraire), hétaïre (littéraire), michetonneuse (argot), asphalteuse (argot, vieux), dégrafée (argot, vieux), horizontale (vieilli), marchande d'amour, de plaisir (vieilli), biche (vieux), catin (vieux), cocotte (vieux), gourgandine (vieux), (vieille) peau (vieux, péjoratif), créature (péjoratif), femme de mauvaise vie (péjoratif), guidoune (péjoratif, vulgaire, Québec), escort-girl (anglicisme).
Looking forward to part 2!