Melesina Trench (née Chenevix, previously St George; 22 March 176827 May 1827) was an Irish writer, poet and diarist. During her lifetime she was known more for her beauty than her writing, and it wasn't until her son, Richard Chenevix Trench, published her diaries posthumously in 1861 that her work received notice.
Biography
Melesina Chenevix was born in Dublin to Philip Chenevix and Mary Elizabeth Gervais. She was orphaned before her fourth birthday and brought up by her paternal grandfather, Richard Chenevix (1698–1779), the Anglican Bishop of Waterford. The family were of Huguenot extraction.
After the death of Richard Chenevix she went to live with her other grandfather, the Archdeacon Gervais. On 31 October 1786 she married Colonel Richard St George. Her husband died only four years later in Portugal, leaving one son, Charles Manners St George, who became a diplomat.
Diaries and correspondence
She corresponded with (amongst others) Mary Leadbeater, with whom she worked to improve the lot of the peasantry at her estate at Ballybarney.
Melesina Trench's diaries and letters were compiled posthumously by Richard Chenevix Trench as The remains of the late Mrs. Richard Trench in 1861 with an engraving of her taken from a painting by George Romney. Another oil painting, The Evening Star by Sir Thomas Lawrence, had her as a subject, and she was reproduced in portrait miniatures; one in Paris by Jean-Baptiste Isabey and another by Hamilton that was copied by the engraver Francis Engleheart.
Copies of a number of her works are held at Chawton House Library.
Select works
- Journal Kept During a Visit to Germany in 1799, 1800. Edited by the Dean of Westminster (R. C. Trench).
- Mary, Queen of Scots, an historical ballad: With other poems (1800)
- Campaspe, an historical tale, and other poems (1815)
- Laura's dream; Or, The Moonlanders (1816)
- The Remains of the Late Mrs Richard Trench: Being Selections From Her Journals, Letters, & Other Papers edited by St. George Trench
- Thoughts Of A Parent On Education (1837) edited by Elizabeth Whately
- Melesina Trench: poems and letters from her journal. 1977.