Sir, —I greatly enjoyed Helena Kelleher Kahn’s piece on ‘The Yelverton Affair’ of 1861 (HI 13.1, Jan./Feb. 2005). A cause célèbre can be like a time capsule, accurately preserving incidentally forgotten aspects of history, society and sensibility. Ms Kahn is certainly right in saying that the Yelvertons had an ambiguous reputation. The founder of the ... Read more
