The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Knight, Ellis Cornelia

KNIGHT, Ellis Cornelia, English authoress: b. 1757; d. Paris, 17 Dec. 1837. She went to Italy with her mother on the death of her father, Rear-Admiral Sir Joseph Knight (1775). She lived under the protection of Lady Hamilton and Admiral Nelson after her mother's death (1799) and returned with them to England. She was appointed companion to Queen Charlotte (1805) and to a similar position, later, in the household of Charlotte Augusta, Princess of Wales (1813). Her autobiography is a most valuable source of information for the court history of those days. The most important statements in the work were edited and published (1861) after her death. She wrote also ‘Dinarbas’ (1790); ‘Flaminnis,’ a romance of old Roman life (1792); ‘Sir Guy de Lusignan’ (1833), another romance. Her principal work was ‘A Description of Latium, or La Campagna di Roma’ (1805), with etchings by the author. She translated a number of German hymns and prayers which were printed privately (1822) and published in 1832.