Lady Cynthia Asquith
Lady Cynthia Asquith (born Cynthia Mary Evelyn Charteris; 27 September 1887 – 31 March 1960) was an English writer and socialite known for her ghost stories, diaries, novels, and edited anthologies. She also wrote for children and covered the British royal family.
Born at Clouds House, East Knoyle, Wiltshire, she came from a prominent aristocratic family, the daughter of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss, and Mary Wyndham. In 1913 she met the writer D. H. Lawrence and became a close friend and correspondent. She also served as secretary to J. M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, and remained in his circle until his death in 1937; Barrie left most of his estate to her, apart from the Peter Pan works. She counted L. P. Hartley as a lifelong friend.
Asquith edited The Ghost Book, an anthology of supernatural fiction that included stories by D. H. Lawrence, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, and others. Her own story “The Follower” was adapted for BBC Radio, and her work appeared in the Cecil Madden anthology My Grimmest Nightmare (1935). She contributed to the screenplay of the 1937 film Dreaming Lips and later appeared on the ITV quiz The 64,000 Question in 1957, where she won the top prize answering questions on Jane Austen.
On 28 July 1910 she married Herbert Asquith, the son of former prime minister H. H. Asquith. They had three children. Herbert died in 1947, and Cynthia died in Oxford in 1960 at the age of 72. One of her stories, “God Grante That She Lye Stille,” was adapted for television in 1961 as an episode of Thriller.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:40 (CET).