Cynthia Asquith Spring House

Lady Cynthia Asquith was the daughter of the Earl of Wemyss, a Tory peer. Her mother was also an upper class lady. She married Herbert Asquith, son of the Liberal Prime Minister, just before World War One. He was a barrister but he wanted to be a poet, and the young couple did not have much money. Cynthia was interested in literature and the arts, though she also enjoyed a typical upper class social life. When she realised that she and Herbert (Beb) were going to be short of money, she decided that she had to be the bread winner, although she was not brought up to work. So she took to writing and also got a job as a part time secretary to JM Barrie. She wrote things like biographies of the Royal Family, memoirs about the upper class life before the War, and some fiction. She also wrote ghost stories. However, now she is most famous for her Diaries of life in England during World War One, from 1915 to 1918, which were published in the 1960s. In the 1930's she wrote a novel, "The Spring House" and I hope to blog about it soon. It is based loosely on her own life during the War. During that time, she was living what she called a "cuckoo" life, renting out her house and living with relatives and friends. Her husband was away at War, and she by then had 2 small children. More will follow.