Cora Smith
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| Portrayed by Lily James | |
| Full Name | Cora Louise Smith |
|---|---|
| Associated Noble House(s) | N/A |
| Date of Birth | 11th August 1789 |
| Father | Henry Smith |
| Father's Rank | Clergyman |
| Mother | Catherine Smith |
| Mother's Rank | N/A |
| Town Residence | Mrs. Cox's London house |
| Year of Debut | 1811 |
| Dowry | None |
Miss Cora Smith, late of Ashdene Cottage in Somerset, has been brought into London society by Mrs. Cox. She has no dowry whatsoever, no connections of note besides the tenuous link to Mrs. Cox by the defunct Mr. Cox who was only a distant cousin to her mother, and a wretched country habit of speaking her mind.
Cora is played by Emily
History
Cora was born the only child to a Mr. and Mrs. Smith, good people of no particular note. Her father was a clergyman, and held livings which gave a decent income for his preference for a simple lifestyle. Catherine, his wife, had connections which might have given rise to hopes for a better match than a country clergyman, but Henry Smith happened to be the height of her own matrimonial ambitions. She is a quiet woman, pretty in her way, but always a little frail-seeming. Cora was her only child born alive, and her strength never did seem to return to her after a difficult birth.
Cora’s father died when she was 17, and the upheaval of her life meant a great many changes. Between mourning, true grief, and the necessity of finding a new situation for herself and her mother, there was no talk of any proper social debut, and by the time the dust had settled, neither Cora nor her mother brought up the idea. Catherine by now has sunk into a lingering period of illness, from which it seems increasingly unlikely she should recover.
Their income much reduced, they were offered the use of a cottage on the Somerset estate of Catherine’s cousin, a Mr. Cox, and they have resided there in simple comfort for some years, now. Wintering abroad or even a trip to Bath might help Mrs. Smith’s recovery, but their means are not to be stretched to that extent, for uncertain benefit. Cora has preferred to stay at home with her mother, being of use when she can, and not much minding the quiet and confined life of the country. Mr. Cox himself died hardly three years after their coming to the cottage, but his widow has honoured his generous offer of the lease of the cottage for the remainder of Mrs. Smith’s life, and has been a good friend to Catherine and Cora, attempting to even give the girl some sense of social graces over the course of their acquaintance.
As Mrs. Cox’s mourning has come to an end, and she is now quite a rich widow, with no children of her own, she has gone to town, and insisted upon taking Cora with her. Cora has been loathe to leave her mother and her home, which suit her perfectly, thank you very much, but she is all too aware that their home is only theirs thanks to the largesse of Mrs. Cox, and has no wish to seem too ungrateful for the many little kindnesses the woman has shown her. Cora is also aware that her own mother’s life may not extend for many years more, and that her best hope of a permanent situation is that she might beg a place as a companion or nurse to Mrs. Cox, in the years to come, or else that she might continue to live her own life in the little cottage she loves.