Isabella St. John

Lady Isabella Frances St. John (née FitzRoy) was born on 6 May 1792. She was the daughter of George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, and Lady Charlotte Waldergrave. Her mother was the daughter of the 2nd Earl Waldegrave, and she was the stepdaughter of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh.

In 1829, Isabella FitzRoy married The Hon. Henry Joseph St. John, the son of George St John, 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke. Her husband died in 1857.

Lady Isabella resided at Hampton Court Palace as a grace and favour tenant, occupying Suite XXI from 1839 until her death. She passed away on 27 August 1875.

As a writer, she produced works in the genres of novel, short story, and poetry. Her published works include two volumes titled "Wedded Life In the Upper Ranks," two volumes of "The Wife and Friends, and the Married Man" in 1831, and "Geraldine Hamilton; Or, Self-Guidance. A Tale," also in two volumes in 1832. Additionally, she authored "Mrs. Cleveland, and the St. Clairs: A Novel," published in three volumes in 1836. Her later work, "Augustus Courtenay, and Other Tales," was published in two volumes in 1852.

Her writings attracted critical attention, including a notable negative review of her novel "Mrs. Cleveland," which described it as a "deleterious fungus" with "improbable" plots, "colourless" and "insipid" characters, and language that was considered substandard.

Her annotated copy of Jane Austen’s "Mansfield Park" is discussed in Janine Barchas’s 2019 book, *The Lost Books of Jane Austen*.

Her life and work are documented in bibliographic references, but no specific further biographical details beyond her family background, marriage, residences, and published works are provided.