Mary Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert (1822–1911)

Mary Elizabeth Herbert, née à Court-Repington, was born at Richmond in Surrey, the daughter of Catherine and Lt.-Gen. Charles à Court-Repington. In 1846, she married Sidney Herbert, an ambitious young politician who was a son of the 11th Earl of Pembroke. When her husband was named Secretary at War during the Crimean War, she became an ally of Florence Nightingale.
In 1861, Sidney Herbert died, shortly after being created Baron Herbert of Lea, making her Baroness Herbert and leaving her a widow with seven children. Lady Herbert converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 1866, and was known as "Lady Lightning" for her efficiency and ardor working for Catholic charities and interests. St. Joseph's Foreign Missionary College at Mill Hill Park, London, became the focus of her life and work. She was an intimate friend and correspondent of many eminent Victorians, including Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Palmerston, William Gladstone, Cardinal Newman, and Cardinal Manning. She wrote several travelogues, biographies, and biographical essays, mostly of religious figures, and some autobiographical works, and contributed many articles to the Dublin Review. She was the model for Lady St, Jerome in Disraeli's roman à clef, Lothair (1870).