Harriet Stephen
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27 May 1840
Harriet Stephen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Harriet Marian Thackeray 27 May 1840 London, England |
| Died | 28 November 1875 (aged 35) |
| Resting place | Kensal Green Cemetery |
| Spouse | Leslie Stephen (m. 1867) |
| Children | Laura Makepeace |
| Parent(s) | William Makepeace Thackeray Isabella Gethin Shawe |
| Relatives | Anne Thackeray Ritchie (sister) |
Harriet Marian Stephen (née Thackeray; 27 May 1840 – 28 November 1875), was the wife of Leslie Stephen and what her father William Makepeace Thackeray called 'the balance wheel in the family'.[1]
Harriet Marian Thackeray, known as "Minny", was born in London on 27 May 1840, the third daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray and Isabella Gethin Creagh (née Shawe; 1816–1893).[1] Following Minny's birth, her mother suffered from severe postpartum depression, which developed into serious, ongoing mental illness. As result, Isabella Thackeray was sent to a private asylum.[1]
Minny and her sisters spent the following four years with William Thackeray's mother - a strict Calvinist - in Paris, after which they returned to live with him in London. Here, they were raised in a busy cultural atmosphere, exposed to the many literary guests of their father. The girls were educated by various governesses, visiting teachers, and foreign travel.[1] Minny's sister, Anne Isabella, went on to be a noted writer, and Minny too was described as having 'a capacity for shrewd and witty commentary on the people she met.'[1]
Minny's father described her at the age of 21 as being:
absurdly young for her age for she still likes playing with children and kittens and hates reading and is very shy tho' she does not show it and very clever tho' she does not do anything in particular and always helps me out of scrapes which I am getting into.[2]
William Makepeace Thackeray died in 1863, and his daughters returned to live with their grandmother, who died a year later. Financially comfortable, Minny and Anne bought a house in London, where they shared household duties according to their particular talents.[1]
