Madam Katarina Michelle was an early Victorian lady with a penchant for collecting relics and who was somewhat eclectic in her tastes.

Born in 1830 to a family of intrepid explorers.

Not much is known about her child-hood but she had two older siblings, one brother (Edwin Bernard) and one sister (Cordelia Jayne). Whilst both her siblings enjoyed world travel and exploration, Katarina suffered from Consumption and moved to St Leonards on Sea on the South-East coast after being advised to by her physician for the benefit of her health.

Her sister married another explorer (Joseph) from London and accompanied him on his voyages to find new and exciting natural artifacts. Cordelia and Joseph had one daughter, Isabella Jayne whom they left with Katarina to bring up so they could continue their explorations. Cordelia sent some of her ‘finds’ home to Katarina so she could add some more exotic items to her growing collection. Her notebooks and letters record these.

Madam Katarina never married but she had one love of her life, referred to only as ‘NP’ in her notebooks. He was a widower that she had met on one of her perambulations. They became close friends and appear to have spent a lot of time together. When he died Katarina was heartbroken and mourned for months.

Leaves and Sampler

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