Cherry Potts, Writer

Category: history

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party March 2nd

    So it turns out I was mistaken about not having a birthday party booked for the 1st – my spreadsheet lied to me. So pretend Emilia was today, and Mercedes de Acosta March 1, 1893 – May 9, 1968 was yesterday – I’ll switch them round later when you aren’t looking. Mercedes  was a not…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party March 1st

    A new month, but no birthday to celebrate. I’ll have run out of people whose dates I haven’t found soon and then where will I be? Ok, never mind. Today we are composing birthday odes for Emilia Bassano Lanier aka Aemelia Lanyer 1569–1645 Emilia was  Jewish, the  illegitimate daughter of Venetian musician Baptista Bassano and…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 28th February

    Todays is another birth free day, so lets celebrate someone we missed in January; another cross-dresser: Charlotte Charke 13 January 1713 – 6 April 1760. Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Colley Cibber a celebrated actor. She grew up independent and took to the stage herself, frequently playing ‘britches’ parts (18th Century theatre was obsessed…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 27th February

    No birthday girl today so another one from yesterday Mabel Dodge Luhan February 26, 1879 – August 13, 1962. Much married New York Salonist, her memoir (so we are told, I’ve not read it) Intimate Memories (1933) details relationships with several women. She knew Natalie Barney and was a friend of Gertrude Stein and Alice…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 26th February

    Let’s light the candles on the cake for Mary Taylor 1817-1893 Mary and her  sister, Martha, went to  school at Roe Head, Mirfield, where in 1831 Mary met Ellen Nussey and Charlotte Brontë and they became great friends. Mary and Charlotte both stayed in each others homes regularly. Charlotte used the Taylor family as the…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 25th February

    No birthday alloted today, so a random choice: Theodora Bosanquet OBE 1881-1961 (no idea what day she was born, history and the internet refuses to relate) Now. Theodora is best known for being Henry James’ secretary. Not a good start, but remarkable that anyone could get known for being anyone’s secretary really. James described her…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 24th February

    No birthday for today, so guess where we are headed. Yep! Eliza Fowler Haywood, born around 1693 died 25 February 1756, so it seems appropriate to give her a February party. Eliza was an actress, and a prolific novelist, playwright, poet, translator and editor – and made quite a success of all of them. She…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 23rd February

    Today we celebrate, a day late, Jane Bowles February 22, 1917 – May 4, 1973. Jane was a writer who apart from her husband Paul, (also gay) had relationships exclusively with women. On the whole, these were short-lived. Virgil Thomson said of her all her life Jane was promiscuous. She didn’t really care too much…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 22nd February

    Today’s birthday girl is Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) also known as Nancy Boyd when writing prose, and who called herself ‘Vincent’. Vincent was an American poet and playwright in 1923 she became the third woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, her first poems were published when…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party February 21st

    I’m a day late, sorry, but here is the Birthday news for February 21st. Now: if I say Prison Reformer, the most likely image to come to your mind is Elizabeth Fry. Ms Fry was an excellent woman and to be admired, but put her to one side for a minute and consider (fanfare) Lilian…