The Skilled Reader : Alternate Readings Edition

Synopsis

This two-volume Autobiography by Cornelia Knight (1757–1837) was published in 1861. It was complied by the military historian Sir John Kaye from her journals and a memoir based on them, written late in life and remaining incomplete at her death. Cornelia Knight, the daughter of an admiral, was highly educated: she knew ten languages, was skilled at painting and drawing, and published novels and poetry. In 1813 she was appointed to the household of Princess Charlotte of Wales. In 1814, the Prince Regent dismissed all his daughter's attendants, and Knight returned to a life of literature and European travel. Volume 1 takes Knight's story up to the crisis of 1814, and Volume 2 describes her later life in the court circles of Europe.