21/08/2026
Helmsley Literary Festival presents - Rachel Watkyn & Claire Hornby - The Baronesses - Sat 19 September, 1pm - 2pm
A true story of sisterhood, survival and a secret that rewrote their past
The Baronesses is the memoir of half-sisters Rachel and Claire, whose childhoods were spent in stately homes. Rachel's father, the Count De Lengham, claimed descent from a long line of aristocrats and had his own coat of arms. The offspring of two wealthy men and a free-spirited mother, the girls had a seemingly privileged, but in reality, difficult, upbringing. Despite her strained relationship with her father as she grew older, when the Count became dangerously ill, Rachel attended his deathbed:
‘The Box of Secrets, he said weakly, was under his bed. It had a padlock. The padlock key was with some other items in the safe. We were under strict instructions not to open them until after his death…’
Tickets / Info - https://www.helmsleyarts.co.uk/whats-on/hlf-rachel-watkyn-claire-hornby-the-baronesses
