author
C. A. E. (Charlotte Anne Elizabeth) Moberly
1846–1937
An Oxford pioneer with a taste for mysteries, she helped shape women's higher education and later became famous for a strange Versailles episode that sparked decades of debate. Her life blends serious academic work with one of the oddest literary sensations of the early 20th century.
1 Audiobook
An Adventure
by C. A. E. (Charlotte Anne Elizabeth) Moberly, Eleanor F. (Eleanor Frances) Jourdain
About the author
Born in Winchester in 1846, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth Moberly was the daughter of George Moberly, who later became Bishop of Salisbury. She was educated at home and spent years assisting her father before moving into academic life of her own.
In 1886, she became the first Principal of St Hugh's Hall, later St Hugh's College, Oxford. She played an important part in building the institution during a period when opportunities for women in higher education were still limited.
Moberly is also remembered as a writer. With Eleanor Jourdain, she co-authored An Adventure, a book based on their claim that during a visit to Versailles they experienced scenes from another time. Whether read as a psychological puzzle, a ghost story, or a curiosity of its age, the book made her name known far beyond Oxford.