Jemima Palmer
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| Portrayed by Isla Fisher | |
| Full Name | Jemima Palmer |
|---|---|
| Associated Noble House(s) | Marquessate of Raulings |
| Date of Birth | February 18, 1791 |
| Father | Barnaby Palmer |
| Father's Rank | Gentry |
| Mother | Francesca Palmer, nee Grafton |
| Mother's Rank | Lady Francesca Palmer |
| Town Residence | {{{residence}}} |
| Year of Debut | 1811 |
| Dowry | £30,000 |
Jemima Palmer is the daughter of Mr. Barnaby Palmer, a wealthy landowner, and Lady Francesca Palmer, daughter of the 1st Marquess of Raulings. She has one younger sister, Cecily. Jemima is played by Meg.
Contents
Childhood (1791-1803)
Jemima was born and raised on a small estate in Leicestershire near Raulings Park, the ancestral home of her mother's family. Her birth was quickly followed by that of another daughter, Cecily. The Palmers were never particularly attentive parents; Jemima’s father was uninterested in his daughters’ lives, preferring hunting and the work of running the several estates he owned. Her mother was far more concerned with the latest Parisian fashions and hosting a truly marvelous party for the ladies of the ton than what her children ate for supper. This is not to say, of course, that Jemima and her younger sister, Cecily, were neglected. On the contrary, there was a great deal of money devoted to ensuring that the children had everything they could want. It did, however, mean that no matter which rule she broke, Jemima was guaranteed to receive the lightest of punishments, if any, from her uninterested parents. As she grew, she tested those limits to see just how far they might extend, and it turned out to be quite far.
When she wished to, Jemima excelled in the schoolroom. Her parents hired a governess to teach the girls from a young age, and she was soon supplemented by French and Italian masters, as well as a dancing master, for Mr. Palmer had declared that if a woman was going to inherit his holdings, she had better at least be educated. Jem picked up languages quite quickly, as well as some small amounts of math that her father thought would be good for her to know. When she was bored by the subject matter, though, she could be an incredibly obstinate pupil, and on multiple occasions simply walked out of the room, knowing there would be no repercussions.
Misbehavior (1804-1807)
Jemima's propensity for breaking the rules was compounded upon her entrance to puberty. At the age of thirteen, she fell in puppy love with a fifteen-year-old footman named Henry, who worked for the family. They found plenty of excuses to be together, and frequently did not even need a reason, seeing as how there were few limits on what Jem was allowed to do. Their romance was cut short, however, along with Jemima’s quiet, spoiled, easy life, when Lady Francesca caught them kissing in the garden, in full view of the house and anyone who happened to be standing at a window. The boy was dismissed and Jem was sent away to a seminary, where she stayed for two years. The seminary was particularly strict, but she still managed to make friends, and occasionally even sneaked out to meet one young man or another from the nearby town. She somehow managed to get away with it, which was why, when her cousin Katharine was to come out in London, her family sent for her. Perhaps they thought that the time away had done her some good, or perhaps they had fooled themselves into thinking that she was never all that bad. Either way, they were wrong.
During the party, Jemima, who had been watching from the staircase with Katharine's sister, Julianne, sneaked away for a rendezvous with one of the gentlemen in attendance. Unfortunately, their tryst in the closet was cut short when Julianne opened the door and saw them, and then proceeded to run to her mother and tell the whole story. Jem was furious with her cousin, but assured her parents that the man had been trying to take advantage of her youth. Lady Francesca would have none of it, and when Jem begged not to be sent back to the seminary, her mother agreed. Clearly more drastic measures were required, and so she wrote a letter to Lady Raulings’ cousin, the abbess of a monastery in France, and sent her oldest daughter out of the country on the first possible boat.
Time in France (1807-1811)
At the convent, Jem perfected her French and greatly improved her Italian and Latin, made many friends, read whatever classics the nuns would permit, and fumed. She was living in a drafty old castle, eating gruel and praying five times a day, while dear Julianne, the person responsible for her misery, was surely living a perfect fairytale life back in England. She imagined the wonderful parties, dresses and men that her cousin was enjoying while she was shut up in the French countryside. The letter that said she could finally come home was perhaps the most welcome piece of paper in Jem’s life.
Present Day
Jemima's return has conditions. She will finally have a season, but she will not be presented at Court. She has a dowry of £25,000 in order to find a husband, but she must do so this season. If she should fail in this, she will be sent back to the convent and disinherited, effectively removing her from society forever. Jem has perfectly reconciled herself to marriage. She even looks forward to it, to an extent, assuming that she can find either a husband attractive and wealthy enough to suit her whims, or one old and foolish enough that he will not mind whether or not she flirts (or goes a bit further) with other men. What she truly wants to do this Season, however, is to get revenge on Julianne, who she still blames for her years of exile.
Relationships
Family
Mr. Barnaby Palmer (NPC) - Jemima's father. The two have never been close, but she tries to avoid outright disrespecting him, a courtesy she does not extend to her mother.
Lady Francesca Palmer (NPC) - Mother. They got along well enough when Jem was young, but now have difficulty being in each other's company for extended periods of time, each convinced that the other is trying to make her miserable.
Cecily Palmer (NPC) - Jemima and her younger sister were very close when they were little. With the exception of their cousins, there were not many other young people in the area that their parents considered appropriate company for the girls, and so they spent much of their time together. As they grew older, though, it became clear that Cecily was everything Jemima was not – obedient, dutiful, etc. Unlike her sister, Cecily never walked out of lessons or kissed footmen in the garden. Jem being sent away didn’t do wonders for their relationship either. Today, they are affectionate together, but not particularly close.
Extended Family
Thomas Grafton, Marquess of Raulings - Uncle
Theodora Grafton, Marchioness of Raulings - Aunt
William Grafton, Earl of Bridgeton - Cousin
Henry Grafton - Cousin
Richard Grafton - Cousin
Katharine Steele - Cousin
Julianne Grafton - Cousin
Miranda Rossington, Dowager Duchess of Welby - Aunt
Hugh Rossington, Duke of Welby - Cousin
Daniel Rossington - Cousin
Friends and Acquaintances
Julia Hissop, Duchess of Pennington - The two are distantly related through the Duke, and Lady Francesca thought it would be good for her daughter to meet such an influential relative. The plan backfired, however, as the two took more of a liking to each other than she would have hoped.
Hugo Fotherington - They met first at the Emerson Ball, and ran into each other on Bond Street. She thinks him pleasant enough and quite handsome, but that is the extent of her interest.
William Gosling - They met briefly on Bond Street. Jemima knows nearly nothing about him but is rather intrigued, mainly because he seems to be the sort of person by whom she ought to be anything but intrigued.
David Alford - They met at the Emerson Ball. She thinks him a terrible, puritanical bore, and is fairly certain he thinks she ought to be locked up.
