Lady Ottoline Morrell
| Lady Ottoline Morrell | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentinck 16 June 1873 Tunbridge Wells, Kent |
| Died | 21 April 1938 (aged 64) London |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Aristocrat, society hostess and patron |
Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including Aldous Huxley, Siegfried Sassoon, T.S. Eliot and D.H. Lawrence, and artists including Mark Gertler, Dora Carrington and Gilbert Spencer.
Born Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentinck, she was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck (son of Lord and Lady Charles Bentinck) and his second wife, the former Augusta Browne, later created Baroness Bolsover. Lady Ottoline's great-great-uncle (through her paternal grandmother, Lady Anne Wellesley) was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Ottoline was granted the rank of a daughter of a duke with the courtesy title of "Lady" when her half-brother William succeeded to the Dukedom of Portland in 1879, at which time the family moved into Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. The dukedom was a title which belonged to the Cavendish-Bentinck family and which passed to Lady Ottoline's branch upon the death of their cousin William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck.
Morrell was known to have had many lovers. Her first love affair was with an older man, the doctor and writer Axel Munthe, but she rejected his impulsive proposal of marriage because her spiritual beliefs were incompatible with his atheism. In February 1902, she married the MP Philip Morrell, with whom she shared a passion for art and a strong interest in Liberal politics. They shared what would now be known as an open marriage for the rest of their lives. Philip's extramarital affairs produced several children who were cared for by his wife, who also struggled to conceal evidence of his mental instability. The Morrells themselves had two children (twins): a son, Hugh, who died in infancy, and a daughter, Julian.
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