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Catherine Walters, also known as "Skittles" (13 June 1839 – 4 August 1920), was a fashion trendsetter and one of the last of the great courtesans of Victorian London. Walters was rumoured to have had intellectuals, leaders of political parties, aristocrats and a member of the British Royal Family〔Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII: Theo Aronson, 'Walters, Catherine (1839–1920)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004〕 amongst her benefactors. ==Life== Catherine Walters was born the third of five children at 1 Henderson Street, Toxteth, Liverpool, grew up in the Liverpool area〔1851 British Census shows her resident at 123 Queens Buildings, Tranmere, Cheshire, with father and siblings: aged 11, she is a 'scholar'(i.e. schoolgirl)〕 and moved to London before her twentieth birthday. Her father was Edward Walters, a customs official, who died in 1864. Her mother was Mary Ann Fowler. Her nickname is thought to have originated from her working at a bowling alley in Chesterfield Street near Park Lane. (Skittles is the game which evolved into bowling.) At other times she was known as "Mrs Behrens" and "Mrs Baillie", even though she is not thought to have married. Her classical beauty was matched by her skill as a horsewoman, for which she was almost equally renowned. In the 1860s the fascinating sight of Catherine riding on Rotten Row in Hyde Park drew huge crowds of sightseers. Aristocratic ladies copied the cut of her perfectly fitting "Princess" riding habit, and she was well known as a trendsetter.〔'Who rides the best horse in the row? Who drives the most ramapagious ponies? Whom do all the best girls ape in dress and deportment, and in equipage if they can; aye, and in talk, too? Who first set the fashion of the "pork pie" hat?...Why, one of our "pretty horsebreakers".' ''The Times''(London, England), Saturday, 29 June 1861, p. 12〕〔AUSTIN, Alfred, ''The Season: a Satire'' (1861):"..to their Sisters of the Season, Skittles is as well-known, and as much an object of interest, as the last shape of Madame Elise; and the skill with which, in talk ''à deux'', they manoeuvre the conversation into speculations upon her origin, abode, and doings, fully supports their reputation for tact."〕 A letter written to ''The Times'' in July 1862 described in detail the fever of anticipation among the waiting admirers of a thinly disguised Catherine:
She counted among her lovers Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, with whom she eloped for some months to America in the second half of 1862;〔'Mr and Mrs Beauclerk got on very well together until July 1862, when they went to Ems. A Miss Walters, who was better known as "Skittles,” happened to be staying there at the time, and Mr Beauclerk became smitten with her... Having travelled about with Miss Walters for some months the respondent, in 1863, returned to this country by himself..': ''The Times'', Saturday, 1 November 1890; pg. 4; Issue 33158; col E〕〔'...the respondent made the acquaintance of a Miss Walters, better known as "Skittles," with whom he eloped and went to America.':''The Times'', Wednesday, 19 November 1890; pg. 3; Issue 33173; col D〕 Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (later the eighth Duke of Devonshire), whom she pursued to New York during the American Civil War; Napoléon III; French finance minister Achille Fould;〔Hickman, Katie. ''Courtesans: Money, Sex, and Fame in the Nineteenth Century''. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. ISBN 0-9657930-8-7〕 and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). She was also the first love of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who remained infatuated with her for the rest of his life. During her life as a courtesan, her discretion and loyalty to her benefactors became the focal point of her career. There were many rumours about her being involved with certain wealthy men of the time, but she never confirmed or denied these rumours. This gave her great weight in the courtesan lifestyle, and made her a sought-after commodity. It also gave long life to her career, and helped her to retire a wealthy woman of society around 1890. Her estate was worth a very considerable £2,764 19s. 6d at her death.〔Theo Aronson, 'Walters, Catherine (1839–1920)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200〕 As well as her home in Mayfair, which according to DNB she had from 1872, she seems to have had other addresses, judging from a court case in which she was sued for non-payment of a tailoring bill. The other addresses may have been properties she owned. Two were hotels, one in France.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=404 - Page Not Found )〕 Catherine Walters died of a cerebral haemorrhage at her home at 15 South Street, Mayfair, and was buried in the graveyard of the Franciscan Monastery in Crawley, West Sussex.. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Catherine Walters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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