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Dorothea "Dolly"Ponsonby, Baroness Ponsonby of Shulbrede (née Parry; 1876 – 11 July 1963), was an English writer and close friends of theLlewelyn Davies and du Maurier families. She was the mother ofElizabeth Ponsonby of theBright Young Things.
Dorothea "Dolly" Parry was born in 1876, the daughter ofSir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet and Lady Elizabeth Maude Herbert (1851–1933). Her sister wasGwendoline Maud Parry.[1]
On 12 April 1898 she marriedArthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede and had two children: Hon.Elizabeth Ponsonby (1900–1940, married John Denis Cavendish Pelly) andMatthew Ponsonby, 2nd Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (1904–1976).[2][1]
In 1917, together with her husband, she wroteRebels and Reformers.[1]
She was a close friend of the Llewelyn Davies' family, a connection that started with her mother, Elizabeth Maude Herbert, who was friends (and admirer) ofMargaret Llewelyn Davies, and Dolly became friends withArthur Llewelyn Davies and in particular close friend withSylvia du Maurier. She was also a close friend ofJ. M. Barrie.[3]
Dorothea Ponsonby died on 11 July 1963. She left a body of letters and her diaries which provide a useful insight into her life and the notable people that she socialised with.[4]