May Crommelin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1850  |
| Died | 10 August 1930 (aged 79–80) |
| Occupation | Novelist |
Maria Henrietta de la Cherois Crommelin, known as May de la Cherois Crommelin, (1850–1930) was a novelist and travel writer born in Ulster, Ireland[1] at Carrowdore Castle in County Down.[2] On the death of her brother, Frederick Armand, who succeeded their father Samuel Arthur Hill de la Cherois Crommelin, J.P. D.L. as head of the family, May and her sisters Evelyn and Caroline (Mrs Robert Barton Shaw), were recognised jointly as heads of the family of de la Cherois Crommelin.[2]
While growing up, she and her family often lived elsewhere because of the political situation at home, and Crommelin was educated by governesses. The family moved to England in the 1880s[1] and after the death of her traditionalist father in 1885 she lived independently in her own flat in London. Though her family were "French gentry"- the Crommelins being in possession of considerable property at Armandcourt in Picardy and created Seigneurs de Camas[2]- and descended from the Huguenot linen merchant Louis Crommelin, they were not at all wealthy, and Crommelin earned a living by writing. One of her cousins was the astronomer Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin.[2]