(Encyclopedia) Gregory, Lady Augusta (Isabella Augusta Persse), 1859–1932, Irish dramatist. Though she did not begin her writing career until middle-age, Lady Gregory soon became a vital force in the…
(Encyclopedia) Rich, Penelope, Lady, 1562–1607, the “Stella” of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella (1591). Daughter of Walter Devereux, first earl of Essex, she married (1581) Lord Rich (later…
(Encyclopedia) Masham, Abigail, LadyMasham, Abigail, Ladymăshˈəm [key], d. 1734, favorite of Queen Anne of England. Her maiden name was Abigail Hill. A plain, intelligent person, she became (1704)…
(Encyclopedia) Stanhope, Lady Hester Lucy, 1776–1839, English traveler. Leaving England in 1810, she traveled in the Levant, adopting Eastern male dress and a religion that was a composite of…
(Encyclopedia) Lady of the Lake, in Arthurian legend, a misty, supernatural figure endowed with magic powers, who gave the sword Excalibur to King Arthur. She inhabited a castle in an underwater…
(Encyclopedia) Hamilton, Emma, Lady, 1765?–1815, mistress of the British naval hero Horatio Nelson. Born Emma Lyon, she became the mistress of Charles Greville, then of Sir William Hamilton,…
