Baroness de Calabrella facts for kids

The Baroness de Calabrella (born around 1788 – died October 6, 1856, in Paris) was an interesting English woman who was known in high society. She also worked as a journalist and writer.

Her Family and Early Life

Catherine Ball was born in December 1787. Her parents were David and Sarah Ball, who lived in Lambourne, Essex. Her grandmother, Ruth, had married a very rich man named Admiral Edward Hughes. He had a lot of money.

Sadly, several family members passed away, including Catherine's uncle Henry (in 1792), Admiral Hughes (in 1794), her father (in 1798), and her grandmother (in 1800). After these events, the family's money was left to David Ball's children. Most of it went to Catherine's only brother, Edward, but Catherine and her sisters, Ruth and Sydney, also received a good amount.

After her father died, her family might have moved to London. Her mother later remarried a man named Thomas Johnson. Catherine's younger brother, Edward, became very famous for being a wealthy and stylish man known as "The Golden Ball." In 1843, Catherine dedicated her book Prism of Imagination to him, showing how much she cared for her brother.

Her Career in Writing and Journalism

By the 1840s, the Baroness de Calabrella bought a newspaper called the Court Journal. This newspaper mainly reported on news about high society. The paper was losing money, and it continued to do so even after she hired several editors to run it.

One of her editors, Jocquim Hayward Stocqueler, described her. He said she was tall and had an elegant figure. He thought she must have been very beautiful when she was younger. He also noted that she looked serious and a bit sad, but her manners were gentle and polite. He also shared a story about her friendship with the Countess of Blessington. The Baroness was very upset when her Court Journal gave one of the Countess's novels a bad review.

The Baroness wrote many novels and short stories. She also published a book about good manners, called etiquette, which was very popular in America. Her stories appeared in special books called "gift books," which were often edited by her friend, the Countess of Blessington. The Baroness also edited or wrote several of these gift books herself.

Portraits and Tributes

A famous artist named Alfred d'Orsay, who was the Countess of Blessington's partner, painted a portrait of the Baroness. He also sold copies of this painting.

Another picture of the Baroness, possibly from when she was younger, was included with her book Ladies' Science of Etiquette in 1844. In 1845, an American "gift book" called The American Book of Beauty included a copy of this portrait and a poem written about her, titled "Lines on Seeing a Portrait of the Countess of Calabrella."

Selected Works

Here are some of the books and stories the Baroness de Calabrella wrote or edited:

• Novels:
  • The Tempter and the Tempted (1842)
  • The Cousins (published in Ainsworth's Magazine, 1843)
  • The Land of Promise, a Tale (1844)
  • The Double Oath; or, The Rendezvous (1850)
• Edited Works:
  • The Court Journal Library (1846)
  • Evenings at Haddon Hall (1849) – this book had illustrations by George Cattermole
• Story Collections:
  • The Prism of Thought (1843)
  • The Prism of Imagination (1843)
• Stories in Other Publications: She had stories in the Countess of Blessington's "Keepsake" books from 1842 to 1846, and again in 1850. She also had stories in Blessington's Book of Beauty (1843, 1847), Ainsworth's Magazine (two stories in 1843), and The Illustrated London News (1844). A long story called "The Old Man of Haarlem" was published anonymously in England in 1843, but later published as a book in the United States under her name.
• Non-fiction:
  • The Ladies' Science of Etiquette (1844) – This book about manners was published around the same time as a similar book by Alfred d'Orsay. It was very popular and had many different editions, including one in 1860 that combined both their works.