Courts, Florence and recollections
Born Countess Walburga von Hohenthal in Berlin in 1839, she served as lady-in-waiting to Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria’s daughter and the future German empress. In 1860 she married the British diplomat Augustus Berkeley Paget. His postings took their household through Copenhagen, Florence, Rome and Vienna, giving her the experience of court life and diplomatic society that would later fill her memoirs.
In 1893 she acquired Torre di Bellosguardo above Florence and restored its house and gardens. Writers, artists and visitors interested in Theosophy gathered there; Annie Besant was among its speakers. Paget advocated vegetarianism and concern for animals, connecting her sympathies with belief in the soul’s continuing progress. Her political outlook also included admiration for Mussolini in the 1920s, whom she credited with rescuing Italy from communism. Scenes and Memories appeared in 1912, followed by further recollections including Embassies of Other Days, In My Tower and The Linings of Life. She died in 1929.
Editing an unseen correspondent
Colloquies with an Unseen Friend appeared in 1907. The held London title page names Philip Wellby as publisher and credits Paget as editor. Her introduction describes papers entrusted to her by people she knew: a purported spirit called Fidelio, an automatic writer given the name Tarquinia, and a questioner called Ermengilda. Conversations took place when the two women were together; during separations, questions were also sent by letter for the writer to open at an agreed time.
