Mabel Batten
Mabel Batten as a young woman
Mabel Veronica Hatch Batten (1856–1916) was a well-known amateur singer of lieder.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Legacy
5 References
Early life
She was born Mabel Hatch in a well-connected family.[1]
She studied in Dresden and Bruges, harmony and composition.[2]
Career
Mrs. George Batten Singing by John Singer Sargent
She was a leading "patroness of music and the arts, mezzo-soprano and composer" of drawing rooms songs.[1] One of her best composition was the setting of "The Queen's Last Ride" by the poem of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. She was an accomplished singer, pianist and guitar player.[3]
Personal life
Mabel Batten at the time of her relationship with Radclyffe Hall
In 1874 she married George Batten, secretary to the Viceroy of India.[1] They had one daughter, the painter and film maker Lady Cara Harris.[2] Cara Harris's daughter was Honey Harris, friends with Dolly Wilde, and Honey Harris's daughter is Cara Lancaster.[4]
In the 1880s she had a relationship with Wilfred Scawen Blunt.[2]
She was friends with composer Adela Maddison who, in 1893, dedicated her "Deux Melodies" to her.[2][5] She was also friends with composer Ethel Smyth.[3]
From 1906 she was friends with Toupie Lowther and her brother Claude Lowther. In 1913 Batten and Hall visited the Lowthers at Claude's Herstmonceux Castle.[3]
On August 22, 1907, at Bad Homburg, a spa in Germany, Mabel Batten met Radclyffe Hall. Batten was 51 years old and Hall was 27. When Batten was a widow, she went to live with Hall in Cadogan Square.[1] Batten, nicknamed Ladye, gave the name John to Hall, which Hall used for the rest of her life.[6]
In 1915 Hall met Batten's cousin Una Troubridge (1887–1963). When Batten died the following year, Troubridge took care of a defeated Hall and in 1917 they went to live together.[7]
Batten is buried at Highgate Cemetery in London, and Hall chose to be buried at the entrance of the crypt.[2]
Legacy
Mabel Batten's portraits were taken by John Singer Sargent and Edward John Poynter.[2]
References
^ abcd Hamer, Emily (2016). Britannia's Glory: A History of Twentieth Century Lesbians. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 94. Retrieved 28 September 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ abcdef "Batten, Mabel Veronica". Retrieved 28 September 2017.
^ abc Brown, Val (2017). Toupie Lowther: Her life. Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 57. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
^ "The unimportance of being earnest". Independent. 2000. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
^ Seddon, Laura (2016). British Women Composers and Instrumental Chamber Music in the Early Twentieth Century. Routledge. p. 28. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
^ Cline, Sally (1999). Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John. Overlook Press. p. 58–67.
^ "Radclyffe Hall". A purnell. Archived from the original on 2006-05-09.
