The Souls was a small loosely-knit but distinctive elite social and intellectual group in theUnited Kingdom from 1885 to the turn of the century. Many of the most distinguished British politicians and intellectuals of the time were members. The original group of Souls reached its zenith in the early 1890s and had faded out as a coherent clique by 1900.
The group formed as a response to the damper on social life caused by the political tension of theIrish Home Rule debate. Existing social circles were rent by angry arguments between proponents and opponents of theGladstone ministry's efforts in 1886 to bring about fullHome Rule. Many people in society wanted asalon where they could meet without fighting about politics.Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, a member of the group, described the aims and objectives of The Souls, and above all, of what they wanted to avoid.
In my disappointment about Egypt I turned with redoubled zest to my social pleasures of the year before, and at this time saw much of that interesting group of clever men and pretty women known as the Souls, than whom no section of London Society was better worth frequenting, including as it did all that there was most intellectually amusing and least conventional. It was a group of men and women bent on pleasure, but pleasure of a superior kind, eschewing the vulgarities of racing and card-playing indulged in by the majority of the rich and noble, and looking for their excitement in romance and sentiment.[1]
The name reportedly came fromLord Charles Beresford, who said: "You all sit and talk about each other's souls—I shall call you the 'Souls'".[citation needed]
The original Souls included the following people. It is important to note that most or perhaps all of the women in this list were members of The Souls on their own merits before they married other members.
Percy Wyndham, his wife, Madeline Caroline Frances Eden Campbell, their two sons and three daughters and the children's spouses were all original members of The Souls. Through their mother, the children were descended from Irish nationalistLord Edward FitzGerald. Wyndham commissioned the now-famous painting of his daughters,The Wyndham Sisters byJohn Singer Sargent. The trio are the centre of the 2014 bookThose Wild Wyndhams by Claudia Renton.
Madeline Caroline Frances Eden Campbell Wyndham, (1846–1920) married the Hon. Percy Scawen Wyndham in 1860. Through her, their children were descended from Irish nationalistLord Edward FitzGerald.[2]
Emmeline 'Nina' Mary Elizabeth Welby (1867–1955), was an English writer, editor, translator and sculptor. She married fellow Soul Harry Cust in 1893. She aided him in much of his work, as when she helped with correspondence for the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations.
Alfred Lyttelton (1857–1913): the 12th child of the 4th Baron Lyttelton, he displayed versatility at sport, excelling at both football and cricket. Lyttelton took up the law. He married Laura Tennant in 1885. She died in 1886, bringing their son into the world. The child died in 1888. In 1892, he marriedEdith Sophy Balfour. In 1895, he was elected to the House of Commons as aLiberal Unionist. In 1900 he was appointedQueen's Counsel and was sent to South Africa as chairman of the committee planning reconstruction following theBoer War. He served asColonial Secretary from 1903 to 1905.
Henry White, U.S. diplomat (1850–1927) and his wife, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd 'Daisey' White.
