Philippa Shaw

Abby Shaw

Portrayed by Freema Agyeman
Full Name	Philippa Abigail Shaw
Associated Noble House(s)	None
Date of Birth	15 October 1785
Father	Mr Elijah Khumalo
Father's Rank	Gentleman
Mother	Mrs Martha Khumalo
Mother's Rank	Gentlewoman
Town Residence	15 Grovesnor Street
Year of Debut	1803
Dowry	£1,500
Year of Marriage	1809
Spouse	Robert Shaw
Spouse's Rank	Reverend
Issue	Sophia

Mrs Philippa Shaw, known to friends and family as Abby, is the wife of Reverend Robert Shaw, the current vicar of St George's Church. They married in 1809, only six weeks after first meeting and have a loving but tempestuous marriage. They have a six-month old daughter, Sophia. Abby is hot-tempered and sharp-tongued, but at heart kind and compassionate and anxious to do well in her position.

Abby is played by Sarah.

Family

• Reverend Robert Shaw (born 1783) - husband
• Miss Sophia Shaw (born 1820) - daughter

• Mr Elijah Khumalo (born 1755) - father
• Mrs Martha Khumalo (born b.1764) - mother
• Miss Phoebe Khumalo (born 1791) - sister

• Mr Demane Khumalo (born 1719, died 1796) - grandfather
• Mrs Philippa Khumalo (born 1730, died 1802) - grandmother

Background

Abby Khumalo was the second generation of her family to be born into the sleepy town of Whitchurch in Hampshire - her grandfather, Demane, had settled there after his former employer, Admiral Blackmore, left him a legacy in his will, which he used to buy a modest house with a small parcel of land attached and make a few shrewd business investments that gave his family a comfortable, albeit not extravagant, income.

After the best part of half a century in the county, the Khumalos were well established enough that the majority of their neighbours were used to and accepting of their obvious foreign heritage, and Abby - known by her middle name to avoid confusion with her grandmother, for whom she was named - had an ordinary, happy childhood. Her father hired a governess who taught her French and some Italian, history, literature, mathematics enough to run a household and the pianoforte. Abby and her younger sister, Phoebe, had friends among the other girls that lived nearby and spent many golden days shopping in the town or wandering in the nearby country.

As she got older she was acknowledged to be a remarkably pretty girl (complexion notwithstanding, some would point out), and was courted by a couple of local young gentlemen. But although she indulged them in a few smiles and dances, they mostly left Abby feeling underwhelmed. They were nice men but passionless, simple - much like the town itself, she had come to think - and when she pictured a life with them it was dull and never changing.

In 1809 she found the exact opposite when her family were invited to dine at the vicar’s, and one of his guests was a curate from the next town over.

It took exactly one conversation to realise that Mr Robert Shaw was intelligent, fiery and completely maddening - and that he made her heart race in a way she had never felt before and didn’t think happened outside books.

After that dinner, if Robert was not visiting Whitchurch then Abby was finding excuses to go and watch him preach (and then linger in the vestry afterwards to “discuss his sermons”). Within two weeks she knew she was quite madly in love with him and determined to go with him when he finished his curacy, but she very patiently waited another four weeks to actually marry him. Her parents and sister were somewhat alarmed at the quickness of their courtship, but they liked Robert well enough and could see that Abby had never been happier and rather than risk her eloping agreed to the marriage and provided a modest dowry of £1,500.

In the year since their marriage their love has only increased, but so has their ability to drive each other to distraction and their relationship swings between extremes of passion at both ends of the spectrum. Yet for all her husband’s ability to incense her, Abby sincerely believes him to be her soulmate and would never want to spend her life with anyone else.

Six months ago her domestic felicity was increased with the birth of their daughter, Sophia, who is the light of Abby’s life and, to her mind, the most perfect and angelic child that has ever existed. Even when she wakes up crying at four in the morning.

Personality

Abby is outwardly a vivacious, confident young woman with opinions she is not shy of voicing - she knows herself to be reasonably intelligent and has never seen the point in feigning ignorance or complacency in order to make oneself more appealing or likeable, since it only means spending more time with people you do not agree with or really like yourself. She makes an effort not to cross any lines of propriety or to be deliberately antagonistic, but her strong-mindedness borders the line of being defiant, a trait borne from the fact that as kind and friendly as her neighbours were, growing up she was never quite allowed to forget that she and her family are different and will never entirely fit in.

That defiance makes her stubborn, wilful and at times terribly hot tempered, particularly with her husband. Secure in the knowledge of her husband’s love for her, she allows herself to be entirely open with him and never holds back, knowing he will do the same - hence the tempestuousness of their marriage. Yet for all their arguments they are very like, with deeply held beliefs that they refuse to compromise on, and that is partially what makes them so suited.

When she is not losing her temper, Abby is sunny and outgoing, with a deep compassionate streak, easily making friends and throwing herself wholeheartedly into all she does. She takes her duties as a vicar’s wife very seriously, doing her best to serve and aid in the community, offering an ear to listen should anyone need it and support for her husband’s parishioners wherever she can give it.

The move to St George’s has been both exciting and frightening for her. As stifling as she sometimes found Whitchurch, it was always a bubble of safety where she was known and cared for. Now in the city, she has the opportunity to finally spread her wings but she is also very aware that she is surrounded by strangers who are likely to be more judgemental and less accepting of her. Still, with Robert and Sophia to anchor her, she is determined to put on a brave face and make the best of things.

Thread Tracking

Wednesday 29th May

• Style is eternal: Abby is distracted by her husband while trying to prepare for the Wolfe Ball [1]
• We are gathered here today in the sight of God ... to party: Abby and Rob dance at the Wolfe Ball [2]

Thursday 30th May

• My independence seems to vanish in the haze: Abby meets Florence Fethersby at St George's Church [3]

Saturday 1st June

• You belong with love on your arm: Abby and Rob take baby Sophia to Hyde Park, and run into Tempest Wolfe, out with her dog Looper [4]]

Tuesday 4th June

• Phoebe? Why, who the deuce can she be?: Abby's sister Phoebe arrives at the vicarage for a stay [5]

Thursday 6th June

• If you give a duke a biscuit: Abby talks with the Duke of Oxford at Alice Beckett's picnic [6]

Saturday 8th June

• Madam Machiavelli: Abby invites the Duke of Oxford to tea on the same day she has invited Freya Lindsay and her cousin, as a ploy to through the Duke and Miss Lindsay together [7]