Turning tragedy into timeless romance.
Arabella Hunt (1662-1705) was celebrated for her beauty and her musical talents during her lifetime. Her contemporaries remarked that her soprano voice had the “reed of a bullfinch” and inspired various composers, including Henry Purcell and Dr John Blow.
The Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, were two women that scandalized English society with their unconventional living arrangements. However, they made a number of friends and entertained several interesting guests, including Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Anna Seward, Sir Walter Scott, and even the Duke of Wellington.
Anne Lister was an English landowner and prolific diarist. Her diaries led to revelations that dubbed her the "first modern lesbian." She led numerous romantic relationships with women and married Ann Walker in what is regarded as Britain's first known lesbian wedding.