contessa Evelyn Lilian Hazeldine Carrington Martinengo-Cesaresco

Born Evelyn Lillian Haseldine Carrington in 1852, she became Countess Martinengo-Cesaresco after marrying Count Eugenio Martinengo-Cesaresco in Rome in 1882. British by birth and closely connected to Cambridge through her family, she developed a lasting interest in Italy and especially in the story of its unification.

She became known as a writer, historian, and folklorist. Her work ranged from studies of Italian history, including books on the Risorgimento and on Cavour, to lively writing on folk songs and traditional culture. Later readers have especially remembered her as a gifted popularizer who helped bring folklore and ethnographic material to a broad English-speaking audience.

Her writing combines scholarship with an accessible style, which still makes it appealing today. Whether she was discussing politics, songs, or social customs, she had a talent for showing how large historical movements and everyday human life belong together.