Louisa Stuart Costello (1799–1870)

Louisa Stuart Costello was probably born in Ireland, although some sources say Sussex, England. Following the death of her father,a British army officer who died fighting Napoleon in 1814, her French mother took her to live in Paris. There she supported herself, her mother, and her brother by writing and painting miniatures. She also traveled widely. Among her friends and admirers were Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, and Thomas Moore. She wrote vivid travel narratives and descriptions of France, biographies and novels about French and English historical figures, many popular songs, and several collections of poems. Louisa and her brother Dudley Costello drew popular attention to the copying of medieval illuminated manuscripts; Louisa worked at this profession herself in Paris and in London, where her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy. She was also rewarded by the French government with a pension for helping preserve the heritage of France.