33 Facts About Caroline Fitzgerald

Caroline Fitzgerald was an American poet and litteratrice who spent most of her adult life in Europe, particularly Italy.

Caroline Fitzgerald married into the English aristocracy to Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice until she was able to get the marriage annulled after a few years.

Caroline Fitzgerald had romantic relationships with two men, both at the start of their professional careers, who were neither particularly wealthy nor who moved in high society.

Caroline Fitzgerald's biography, published in 2018, points out the parallels between her life and that of several of the female protagonists in the earlier novels of a writer she knew well, Henry James, exemplified by Isabel Archer in The Portrait of a Lady.

Caroline Fitzgerald was born on September 22,1865, in Litchfield, Connecticut, to William John Fitzgerald and Mary Ann White.

Caroline Fitzgerald's father had been born in 1819, in Litchfield, coming from a well-connected family of Irish descent.

Caroline Fitzgerald attended Upper Canada College, later took a law degree at Trinity College, Dublin and then practised law in Toronto.

Caroline Fitzgerald's younger brother, Edward, was born in Litchfield on May 10,1871, went to Trinity College, Cambridge, became a mountaineer and joined the army.

Caroline Fitzgerald went to Europe with her family for about eighteen months in 1876 and then returned to America to live on the island of Mount Desert, Maine.

Caroline Fitzgerald recorded in her diary that she wrote her first piece of poetry in 1881.

Caroline Fitzgerald specially marked in her diary these meetings as significant events.

Caroline Fitzgerald first published a collection of her poems in 1889 under the title Venetia Victrix and Other Poems, dedicated "To my friend Robert Browning".

Caroline Fitzgerald approvingly noted Browning's influence and considered that "Venetia Victrix" "shows vigour, intellectual strength and courage".

Caroline Fitzgerald often wrote explaining her unhappiness to an old family friend James Lacaita who was living in Florence.

However, Caroline Fitzgerald was determined to be free again and, in particular, she had come to love Italy and wanted to live there.

Caroline Fitzgerald set about getting her marriage nullified because, it was claimed, it had never been consummated.

In 1894, Russell had written to his fiancee Alys Pearsall Smith that, hearing of Caroline Fitzgerald's impending divorce, he had always regretted Caroline Fitzgerald's marriage and that "he couldn't help feeling a sort of joy to think she should get rid of him and start afresh".

Caroline Fitzgerald supposed she married him for ambition rather than love.

Caroline Fitzgerald was sometimes close to despair and no longer felt at home in London or its society.

Caroline Fitzgerald contemplated leaving the capital finding he was happier enjoying the peace of the country at Rye whereas Fitzgerald enjoyed the social life of London.

Caroline Fitzgerald travelled around Europe for extended periods of time visiting the major cultural cities, particularly admiring the architecture of Florence.

Caroline Fitzgerald was happy for him to accompany her around, feeling safer with him than alone by herself and happy to meet his mother and sister.

Caroline Fitzgerald introduced her to the new pastime of cycling.

Caroline Fitzgerald became very attached to living in Rome, appreciating the cultural life, going to the opera, meeting many like-minded people.

Sir Frederic Kenyon was preparing a book on the letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning for publication and he consulted Caroline Fitzgerald to get her insight on Robert Browning as a person.

Caroline Fitzgerald enthusiastically joined in with the project, carrying out some literary research, helping with selecting the letters and visiting Robert and Elizabeth's old haunts.

Caroline Fitzgerald continued corresponding with Kenyon for the rest of her life.

In early 1898, Caroline Fitzgerald met Filippo De Filippi, a mountaineer, explorer and professor of surgery at the University of Bologna.

Caroline Fitzgerald met him when she went to a mountaineering lecture he gave in Rome.

James and Caroline Fitzgerald wrote to each other more and more frequently with the writer encouraging her to pursue her friendship with De Filippi even though she still had an affectionate relationship with Karo.

Since her childhood in America, Caroline Fitzgerald had remained close to the Peskovs, a cosmopolitan Russian family who owned a castle in Salzburg.

Caroline Fitzgerald travelled with him as far as Kashmir, sailing on the SS Oceana.

Caroline Fitzgerald stayed at Srinigar and later Gulmarg while she waited for the expedition to return, before they travelled on together through Ladakh.