Penelope Campbell

**Penelope Elizabeth Campbell, née Appleyard, Duchess of Roxburgh** (May 1st, 1758 - December 26th, 1845) was an English aristocrat, painter and patron of many artists. She was one of the richest and most famous ladies of her time.

## Biography

### Childhood

Penelope was born in 1758 as the fifth of eight children and the middle of five daughters to Lord Francis Appleyard, admiral in the King's fleet and Joanna de Vere. She grew up in luxery at her family's estate in Sussex. As children, Penelope and her siblings would perform plays in a large local barn. She was incredibly close to her sister Dorothy and her brother Edward and was devestated when her brother left for boarding school, writing him weekly.

Penelope's parents weren't around for much of the time, and the children were raised under the supervision of Gwynne Partridge (1720-1800), who would live with Penelope in her retirement years as a sign of gratitude. Penelope had no love for her mother. Her sister Dorothy (1756-1843) would later write:

> *"None of us were close to her. Summer, winter, autumn and spring she would stay indoors sewing or feigning illnesses. Barbara [eldest sister, born 1850] and Ms Partridge would take care of us and have us play, act, dance and paint all day. I think Penelope especially resented our mother's absense in our childhood, and never invited her to stay at her house after marrying James."*
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In 1776, she was presented at court with her younger sister Katherine. That night, Katherine stole Penelope's invitation to a private ball of the Prince of Wales. Penelope never forgave her sister for this and broke off all contact until fifteen years later when a dying Katherine begged Penelope to look after her infant daughter, which Penelope did.

### Adult life

After being presented at court, Penelope became friends with Blanche Sophia Campbell, her future sister-in-law. Penelope would host parties at Blanche's house and stay there for months at a time. She painted to her heart's content and was even allowed to have her siblings stay over once a month. In 1781, Penelope met Blanche's elder brother James Campbell, an agriculture enthusiast who was smitten with her. Initially, Penelope did not share his feelings and even tried to marry him off to her sister Dorothy, who refused.

They eventually attended a ball together, even though they were not engaged, in 1782. This caused a major scandal which was resolved when they married in a small ceremony in 1783 when Penelope was 24. The pair would have five children, all of whom survived infancy:

* Matthew James Campbell (1784)
* Blanche Dorothy Campbell (1786)
* Rose Christina Campbell (1787)
* Edmund Jasper Campbell (1790)
* Constance Sophia Campbell (1791)

Penelope nearly died when she gave birth to Constance on her 33d birthday. Preparations were made to give her the last sacraments and a document was signed to name the baby Penelope "in honour of her late mother". Surprisingly, Penelope made a full recovery and refused to name her daughter after herself, instead naming her after Saint Constance.

> *"I remember that time very well, though I was seven at the time. I felt Mother was about to slip away from us, and my sister [Rose, then four] had terrible nightmares. Then, one day, I suddenly saw her nitting in the sun room with my new-born sister in her arms. It was a miraculous sight."*
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In her thirties, Penelope would often throw parties at her estate for nearby nobles. She also organized the yearly Spring Fair, a feast for local peasants. In 1800, she shocked local nobles by dancing barefeet at a ball with her equally barefoot daughters Blanche and Rose, at a neighbour's ball.

Later that year, Penelope's sons Matthew and Edmund were kidnapped and held in a barn on their way back from holiday to school. They were held for three days, until Matthew escaped to alert the authorities and James came to rescue his other son. After this incident, Penelope had her sons homeschooled and was hestitant to allow Matthew to study. She also homeschooled her daughters, especially Constance.

In 1808, James died unexpectedly after twenty-five years of marriage and Penelope found herself a widow at fifty and the single mother of five children, aged twenty-four to seventeen. She made ends meet by selling their second estate and renting out her house to local orchestras and theatres for rehearsal and performances.

A year later, Penelope's eldest daughters married to Lord Merton and Lord Cornfield in a double wedding. At the wedding, eldest son Matthew met Lord Cornfield's cousin, Elizabeth Cornfield, who he married a year later aged 26.

Penelope's youngest two children made more controversial choices in life. Constance fled from her abusive marriage, and while never divorcing, she would keep her mother company and avoid her husband at all costs. Edmund fell in love with his footman, Otto diMaggio, and the two lived in a remote manor where they could live in peace. People assumed Edmund had fallen into poverty because he only had one manservant, but in reality, this was to hide their love affair. Penelope would visit her son and Otto there, though they could never appear together at family feasts and only Constance ever met him.