SEnine
REVIEW
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A turbulent life 05
A dark purple marble cross marks the grave of a
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two month old child, the only surviving reminder
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locally of a political scandal played out in SE9.
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With
the initials of her longings into the garden in the
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lover and the strongest hint that not all family
surname of her husband, the am- members enjoyed his frequent
biguous wording on the grave- visits. Parnell’s horses at one mo-
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stone summarises the double life ment living in the stables, the next
in Eltham for over a decade by ejected at the end of a boot.
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the baby’s mother Katie O’Shea. One imagines the staff at Won-
The initials of Claude Sophie ersh Lodge and Eltham Lodge,
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were of the baby’s father and Ka- where Katie’s auntie lived, quietly elsewhere most of the time and
tie’s lover, the Irish political leader gossiped for years of the aff air in the Parnell became a regular ‘guest’. 21
Charles Stuart Parnell. Its surname decade before it became public. In- But by the time ‘Auntie’ had
was O’Shea, which Katie Wood deed cook Caroline Pethers gave vi- died at the age of 98, divorce pro-
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took when she married Hussar tal evidence in the divorce hearing. ceedings were inevitable. Legal
Cpt William O’Shea. It was across the dinner-table fees and fraud were to soak up
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‘ERECTED BY HER FATHER AND at Wonersh, as their eyes fi rst met, most of the huge inheritance. Eve-
MOTHER’ carved on the Celtic when the ‘iceberg’ of Parnell col- rybody ended up penniless and
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cross in St Mary’s churchyard, lided with the arty and stylish Katie, unhappy. Katie died in lodgings in
Chislehurst, kept alive a deception setting in train an inevitable descent Littlehampton; her nickname that
which was the result of true love into oblivion for all concerned, leav- of a prostitute ‘Kitty’ and now as a
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and unenlightened self-interest. ing the hopes of Irish home rule in romantic legend for a world-wide
A new book ‘The Turbulent Life its wake for a generation. chain of Irish theme pubs. Her
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of Kitty O’Shea’ has just been pub- The aff air was torrid and pro- eventual marriage to Parnell was to
lished on the aff air which scandal- gressive, with Parnell eventually last just over three months before 33
ised the nation when it became addressing Katie as ‘Queenie’ and his death, from exhaustion and a
public in 1891. It outlines, from ‘Wifi e’, siring two further children, shattered reputation, at just 45.
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Katie’s point of view, the ringside with O’Shea apparently unawares. What the author, Elisabeth Ke-
seat which the people of Eltham It was the old aunt and her hoe manages is to turn proceed-
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had in proceedings. fortune which fi rst brought the ings into a page-turning tragic
A fi re escape rope ladder dan- young Katie to Eltham. O’Shea, dissection of how the hopeful
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gled from Katie’s bedroom in was an aristocratic twit, capable of ambitions of youth can come un-
Wonersh Lodge, a substantial Vic- only losing money at every turn. stuck. In particular Parnell, whose
torian brick-built villa which stood The factor which united all the steely skill and courage as a poli-
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in the area of North Park now oc- main characters in the drama was tician persuaded Prime Minister
cupied by Woodington Close. their poverty in the face of lavish Gladstone that Ireland was ready
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On occasion passers-by would lifestyles. Aunt ‘Ben’ mustn’t fi nd for nationhood. Until Cupid’s ar-
see Parnell, a politician whose out or the prospect any of them in- row hit him head on.
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deep gravitas would make Gordon heriting her money would be lost.
Brown look like a stand-up comic, So Willie, a Catholic, agreed to
Elisabeth Kehoe
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emerging from Katie’s bedroom marry Katie in a Protestant church,
IRELAND’S MISFORTUNE
The turbulent life of Kitty O’Shea
window, down the ladder and into to get a £5,000 bounty from ‘Aunt-
608pp. Atlantic Books. £19.99
the study, when husband Willie ie’. Katie tripped across the park,
ISBN 978 1 84354 486 9
came home unexpectedly. now Royal Blackheath Golf Club,
SEnine has given two hard back copies of the book
On other occasions eldest son, each day to do the nonagenar- to the Eltham library. So pop in and have a read of
Gerald, would throw Parnell’s be- ian Auntie’s bidding. O’Shea lived
this very interesting story, even if the author is a
little confused just where Eltham is.
Be a good neighbour
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