Dominic Sandbrook

Her big thing at boarding school apparently was French.

She has a great gift for French.

And at her school in Peterborough, they do no fewer than 10 whole minutes of French conversation every day.

Unbelievable.

I mean, people say that the British don't bother learning foreign languages.

Total fluency.

Yeah, she's a tremendous linguist.

She's not learning Flemish, though.

This is not exactly, no.

So she works as a governess.

And then in 1890, she is recommended for a post in Brussels where she goes off to work for the François family.

And what is she like?

Now, you said at the beginning that she might be a fun person to talk to at a dinner party.

I'm not so sure.

So the accounts that you have of her as a young woman, she's very short.

I mean, that's not a reason not to talk to her at a dinner party.

But she's not one of life's funsters and japesters.

So a trainee nurse who's met her later said, her voice was low, agreeable, and cultured.

Her French fluent, which she's done 10 minutes a day.

Everything around her, the neatness of her attire, her attitude and poise, the words she used, all conveyed her characteristic efficiency, thoroughness, serenity, and kindness.