Ggrande dame and a leader of the social A world during the great part of the past century, this venerable old lady has lived to see the reigns of five sovereigns. Few women in present-day fashionable circles are more noted for their charm of manner, incisive wit, and brilliant repartee, coupled with an old-world courtesy that is fast becoming extinct, than this wonderful daughter of the Walpoles. Lady Nevill was the confidante of Royal personages, statesmen, field-marshals, and diplomats, and it is said that what she does not know of current affairs is scarcely worth knowing. Indeed, those who have read her reminiscences - "Recollections," "Leaves from the Notebooks of Lady Dorothy Nevill," "More Leaves," and "Under Five Reigns" - must have been impressed with her remarkable knowledge of life in all spheres. Her observations on society of to-day, as compared with society of the Victorian era, are decidedly piquant. "The e1ite of to-day," she affirms, "are fast, flippant, and smart. People are less interesting to talk to, less sociable, less brilliant in conversation, less interested in things." Lady Nevill, in addition to a fondness for horticulture and botany, is an ardent lover and patroness of the fine arts, and her house in Berkeley Square is filled with unique treasures.

Lady Dorothy Nevill Thomson