Helen, Lady Dufferin
Helen, Lady Dufferin, born Helen Selina Sheridan in 1807, was an English poet and balladist recognized for her evocative works, including "The Lament of the Irish Emigrant." She belonged to a notable literary family; her grandfather was the Irish dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and her mother, Caroline Henrietta Callander, was also a novelist. Dufferin was the eldest of three sisters, with her younger sister Caroline Norton achieving fame for her own poetic contributions and tumultuous personal life. After her marriage to Captain Price Blackwood, heir to the Dufferin title, the couple faced family disapproval and spent time in Italy. Following her husband's untimely death in 1841, she dedicated herself to raising their son, who later became a distinguished diplomat. In 1862, she married George Hay, the Earl of Gifford, shortly before his death. Dufferin passed away in 1867, leaving behind a legacy that includes her principal work, "Lispings from Low Latitudes," and a posthumously published collection of her poems and songs.
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Helen, Lady Dufferin
Writer
- Born: 1807
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: June 13, 1867
Biography
Lady Helen Dufferin was born Helen Selina Sheridan in England in 1807, the granddaughter of Irish dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Never regarding herself as a “serious” writer, she is chiefly remembered today for her widely popular ballads, such as “The Lament of the Irish Emigrant” and “Terence’s Farewell”; most of these were anthologized and some set to music.
Dufferin was the eldest of the “three beautiful Sheridan sisters.” Her younger sister, Caroline Norton, also a writer, is perhaps more famous both for her turbulent romantic life and for her more respected poetic work. Dufferin’s other sister later became the Duchess of Somerset. Her mother, Caroline Henrietta Callander, was also a writer (a novelist), and her father, Thomas Sheridan, was a colonial treasurer. The family went to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa when Dufferin was six years old; her father died there four years later. Returning to England, the family resided at Hampton Court Palace by the invitation of the Regent, later King George IV.
In 1825, she married Captain Price Blackwood, heir to the Irish title of Dufferin, Ava, and Claudeboye. Because of the Dufferin family’s disapproval, the couple lived for two years in Florence, Italy, where they had a son, Frederick Temple Blackwood, later a distinguished British diplomat. In 1839, Dufferin’s husband received his title and estates, but he died in 1841 of an accidental overdose of morphine.
Dufferin devoted herself to her son’s education, remaining a widow for twenty-one years. However, in 1862, she became the Countess of Gifford by marrying George Hay, the dying Earl of Gifford; it was thought she accepted him only when she was absolutely certain he was dying, and he did in fact die the next month. Dufferin herself died in London on June 13, 1867.
Dufferin’s principal work published during her lifetime was Lispings from Low Latitudes: Or, Extracts from the Journal of the Hon. Impulsia Gushington (1863). Her Collected Songs, Poems, and Verses was published posthumously in 1894.