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Lilian Louise Staveley (1871–1928) was a Christian writer and mystic whose anonymous works have only recently been credited to her. ==Early life== Lilian Louise Staveley (''née'' Bowdoin) was the daughter of James Bowdoin (1811-1897) and his wife Charlotte Kate (''née'' Costobadie) (1839-1920). Lilian was born to an affluent family, descended on both sides from Huguenots of the old French nobility.〔(The Golden Fountain of the Soul's Love for God )〕 Her early life was not one of outward religious observance, but was rather one of privilege and learning. Along with two brothers, she was educated by tutors, governesse, and at boarding schools. She spoke four languages fluently〔Staveley, Lilian, ''A Christian Woman's Secret'', page 3〕 and spent her summers in Italy. When she came of age in society she entered into a privileged world of balls and suitors. As a young woman she became an atheist; a painful decision with which she struggled for two years. While in Rome, visiting the temples, she was moved by the beauty of her surroundings and "a longing for her Lord so painfully real that the longing could not be denied".〔Staveley, Lilian, ''A Christian Woman’s Secret'' page x〕 While she was highly sought after and offered many proposals, she entered into a secret engagement with Brigadier General William Cathcart Staveley but her parents refused, due to his lack of money, to allow the romance. Meanwhile her father, with whom she was quite close, suffered from a heart condition that left him gravely ill for two years before his eventual death in 1897. His death had a profound impact on his daughter. "I became a semi-invalid, always suffering, too delicate to marry."〔Staveley, Lilian, ''A Christian Woman’s Secret'', page 8〕 When her health returned, she married Staveley on 30 September 1899 at Kensington, London〔GRO Record 1a 241〕 though they were quickly separated for a time when he left for the Anglo-Boer War. At the end of the First World War she brought to John M. Watkins of London a manuscript. For the sake of her privacy and because her husband was still living and a general in the Army, she insisted on anonymity. It was only after her death that General Staveley learned that his wife of nearly thirty years had led a hidden spiritual life.〔World Wisdom, "(Staveley )"〕 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「Lilian Staveley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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