Radclyffe Radclyffe Hall (1849 - 1898)

Born May 1849 in Congleton, Cheshire, England

Husband of Marie Jane Diehl — married about Jul 1878 in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England

Died 24 Oct 1898 at age 49 in Kent, England

Biography

From the Trials of Radclyffe Hall, p. 8

"Radclyffe was the only child of Esther's second marriage. He studied law at Oxford but did not qualify. He had a large allowance and no desire to work. He collected mandolins, wrote songs, did magician's tricks, took photographs of the New Forest and waves crashing on rocks and painted landscapes his daughter when adult judged 'too appalling for words.' He hunted, kept horses and dogs whose names were in the Kennel Club books - French poodles were his favorite breed. He liked travel, owned a yacht and never stayed in one place too long.

He wore expensive clothes and diamond studs in his cuffs. Women took up his time. 'I regret to say that his love affairs were seldom in accord with his social position.' He offended his father by a foray into acting under the alias Hubert Vane and a fling in Torquay with a local fisherman's daughter.

He an Mary Jane Sager married at St. Andrew's parish church, Southport, on 2 July 1878 within months of meeting. The ceremony was to legitimize the birth of their first daughter, Florence Maude. Walter Begley, a friend from Radclyffe's student days, a large shambling clergyman with nervous mannerisms, officiated. The wedding breakfast was held in a hotel. Mary Jane's mother stayed in Philadelphia. The Halls from Torquay and the Reades from Congleton deplored the speed of the alliance, the irregularity of the reception, the uncouthness of Americans, the fisherman's daughter, the scandalous Hubert Vane. In his wedding speech Rat said, 'You've heard of the glorious stars and stripes, well I've married one of the stars may I never deserve the stripes.'

He called himself a painter and wore a green velvet coat, check trousers, and a silk bow tie. He sailed with his wife to Philadelphia to meet his in-laws. This honeymoon was not a success. 'They quarreled in private and they quarreled before friends in public, they quarreled before the negro servants, they quarreled from the moment they opened their eyes. Their scenes were crude, disgraceful, and noisy.' [...]

Radclyffe's marriage was a disaster. It did not so much fail as implode."

Sources

• http://spartacus-educational.com/Wradclyffe.htm
• http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/26515670/person/12765977307
• The Trials of Radclyffe Hall. Souhami, Diana, 2014. p. 8.