Lady Grisell Baillie is remembered for her familial, public, and at times political, actions of valour, loyalty and charity as well as for her published household notebooks and verse. Born at Redbraes Castle in Merse, Scotland on Christmas Day of 1665, she was the eldest of Lady Grisel and Sir Patrick Hume's eighteen children. As her mother's health was frail, the care of her brothers and sisters fell on young Grisell's shoulders and throughout her life she exhibited a strong sense of duty and responsibility. At the age of twelve, she was dispatched by her father to take a letter to the imprisoned Robert Baillie of Jerviswood and was expected to collect intelligence while inside the prison. In her Memoirs of the Lives and Characters

This article in full comprises 978 words but only the first 150 or so words are available to non-members.

All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors. To read about membership, please click here.