Title
Lytton, Rosina [Lady]
Description
Bibliographic Dictionary Entry
Date
1802-1882
Creator
O'Toole, Tina
Source
Munster Women Writers Project, University College Cork
Publisher
Women in Irish Society Project, University College Cork
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Coverage
Munster, Ireland, 1800-2000
Format
Text
Language
en
Type
Text
Subject
Women, Writers, Munster
Contributor
O'Toole, Tina
Birth Date
1802
Death Date
1882
Birthplace
Ballywire, Co. Tipperary
Biographical Text
Rosina Doyle was the daughter of Anna Doyle Wheeler (q.v.) and Francis Massey-Wheeler. She was born in 1802 when her mother has seventeen, on her father's estate at Ballywire, on the Limerick-Tipperary border. Following an unhappy and violent marriage, Anna Doyle Wheeler fled from Ballywire taking Rosina and her sister Henrietta with her, and they lived in Guernsey for several years. The Wheeler girls were educated in French and Italian there, and were later sent to school in Dublin and London when in their teens while their mother went to Caen to join the Saint-Simonian socialist group. Massey-Wheeler died in the 1820s, and in 1826, her sister, Henrietta, died of a wasting disease. We know that Henrietta shared her mother's politics, but little is known about Rosina's views.
Shortly after Henrietta's death, Rosina married the writer and politician Edward Bulwer, Lord Lytton, against the wishes of his family. Rosina's mother was also unhappy with the match, remarking that Lytton treated her daughter like a playful doll (Dooley, 1997:86). The couple had two children, Emily and Edward, but their marriage quickly degenerated into bitterness, and ended nine years later. Lytton figures as the villain in several of Rosina's novels, which she began to write following the breakup of her marriage. She is thought to have written twelve or more novels, the best-known of which is Chevely, or the Man of Honour (1839). Lytton's public reputation, contacts and influence enabled him to attack his ex-wife in the popular press. However, in 1857, Rosina Lytton made public her side of the quarrel by issuing the Appeal to the Justice and Charity of the English People (1857). Dooley tells us that this was timed to confront Bulwer Lytton just as he began his campaign to run for parliament, and set out the story of his abusive behaviour and philandering (Dooley, 87). In 1858, Rosina was kidnapped and illegally confined to an asylum by her ex-husband, in an effort to silence her. Although she was released after three weeks, incarceration in a nineteenth century asylum must have had a lasting effect on her. Rosina Lytton died in 1882, and two years later, her son Edward published a memoir which denigrated women's rights and defended his father's stance in the affair. Interestingly, Constance Lytton (1869-1923), Edward's daughter and Rosina Lytton's granddaughter, went on to become a prominent feminist and member of the Women's Social and Political Union.
Shortly after Henrietta's death, Rosina married the writer and politician Edward Bulwer, Lord Lytton, against the wishes of his family. Rosina's mother was also unhappy with the match, remarking that Lytton treated her daughter like a playful doll (Dooley, 1997:86). The couple had two children, Emily and Edward, but their marriage quickly degenerated into bitterness, and ended nine years later. Lytton figures as the villain in several of Rosina's novels, which she began to write following the breakup of her marriage. She is thought to have written twelve or more novels, the best-known of which is Chevely, or the Man of Honour (1839). Lytton's public reputation, contacts and influence enabled him to attack his ex-wife in the popular press. However, in 1857, Rosina Lytton made public her side of the quarrel by issuing the Appeal to the Justice and Charity of the English People (1857). Dooley tells us that this was timed to confront Bulwer Lytton just as he began his campaign to run for parliament, and set out the story of his abusive behaviour and philandering (Dooley, 87). In 1858, Rosina was kidnapped and illegally confined to an asylum by her ex-husband, in an effort to silence her. Although she was released after three weeks, incarceration in a nineteenth century asylum must have had a lasting effect on her. Rosina Lytton died in 1882, and two years later, her son Edward published a memoir which denigrated women's rights and defended his father's stance in the affair. Interestingly, Constance Lytton (1869-1923), Edward's daughter and Rosina Lytton's granddaughter, went on to become a prominent feminist and member of the Women's Social and Political Union.
Writing Genre
Novels
Social History