Barbarina Grey

Barbarina Charlotte, Lady Grey (née Sullivan), was born on 26 June 1823 in London. She was the daughter of Reverend Frederick Sullivan and Arabella Sullivan. Her maternal grandmother was Barbarina Brand, Lady Dacre, who was an author. Barbarina Charlotte was the second child in her family.

In 1846, she married Admiral Sir Frederick William Grey. During her marriage, her husband was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope & West Coast of Africa Station in 1857. During this period, she corresponded from South Africa, and her letters from this time were published posthumously as "My Dear Maria: The Cape Letters and Journal of Barbarina Charlotte, Lady Grey, 1857-1860" in 1977.

As an author, Barbarina Grey published three works. Her first publication was "A Man without a Name" in 1852, a two-volume novel. In 1883, she published "Better Never than Late and Other Stories," a collection of short stories aimed at a juvenile audience. Additionally, she collaborated with her niece Gertrude Lyster on "A Family Chronicle," which was published posthumously in 1908; this work primarily focuses on her mother’s and grandmother’s lives, derived from notes and letters she selected.

Barbarina Grey died on 23 March 1902 at her residence, Fairmile House, located in Cobham.

Her bibliography includes:

- "A Man without a Name," London: Bentley, 1852.

- "Better Never than Late and Other Stories," London: Hatchard, 1883 (edited by Andrew L. Harington).

- "My Dear Maria: The Cape Letters and Journal of Barbarina Charlotte, Lady Grey, 1857-1860," Cape Town: Friends of the South African Library, 1997 (edited by Gertrude Lyster).

- "A Family Chronicle," London, 1908 (compiled from notes and letters by Barbarina Grey).

References and further details about her life and works can be found in various bibliographies and archival records concerning 19th-century English novelists and correspondents associated with South Africa in the 19th century.