Author: Knight, Ellis Cornelia
Biography:
KNIGHT, Ellis Cornelia (1757-1837: ODNB)
She was the only child of Sir Joseph Knight, a rear-admiral in the British navy, and his second wife Phillipina Deane. Her parents paid unusual attention to her education not only in modern languages, art, and dance as befitted a child of her class, but also in classical languages and history. After the death of Joseph Knight in 1775, unable to secure a widow's pension, Lady Knight and her daughter moved to the Continent to economize. They travelled in France and settled in Rome for eight years. Knight began her writing career in 1790 with Dinarbas, a continuation of Samuel Johnson's popular eastern tale Rasselas that was subsequently published together with it. In the 1790s she also published an historical novel about ancient Rome, Marcus Flaminius, and some short occasional poems. In 1798 they fled from Rome after the French invaded, settling first in Naples and then in Palermo, Sicily, where they became part of the circle of Sir William and Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson. After the death of her mother in Palermo in 1799, Knight returned to England under the protection of Lady Hamilton, but left the Hamilton household soon after to avoid damage to her reputation. In 1805 she was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte, joining the court at Windsor; she also published a guide to Rome that included her own illustrations. In Windsor she contributed to a privately-printed collection of Miscellaneous Poems and published a volume of translations from German, both in 1812. She became an official companion to the Princess Charlotte in 1813 but was dismissed along with the rest of the attendants of the Princess in 1814: her posthumously published autobiography (1861) highlights that period in her life. Knight lived thereafter mainly on the Continent, published one more historical novel (Guy de Lusignan, 1833), and died in Paris of "inflammation of the lungs." She was buried at Montmartre on 21 Dec. 1837. (ODNB 14 Jun. 2021; Orlando; ancestry.com 14 Jun. 2021)