Meet the South Brent woman who is a direct descendant of Lord Nelson

A woman from South Brent has authored a biography on George Matcham, shedding light on the life of this 18th-century English civil servant, traveller, and brother-in-law of Admiral Lord Nelson. 

George Matcham, who lived from 1753 to 1833, is the fourth great-grandfather of the book's author, Lily Style.

Lily Style, a direct descendant of famed lovers Admiral Lord Nelson and Emma Hamilton, as well as Nelson's sister Kitty Matcham, has written A Most Unsettled Man, chronicling George Matcham’s life. 

Kitty, Nelson’s favourite sister, married George Matcham, intertwining their family histories as their grandchildren later married.

Lily, founder of the Emma Hamilton Society and a regular contributor to Nelson-related publications, is passionate about genealogy and the human stories behind historical facts. Her book traces George Matcham's journey from his birth in Bombay, under East India Company control, to his close involvement with Nelson and Emma.

George Matcham, described as “the most unsettled man alive,” undertook three epic overland treks between Asia and England before marrying Kitty Nelson. 

His life, intertwined with Nelson and Emma Hamilton, offers a unique perspective on their famous love story.

The book is rich with period press clippings and eyewitness accounts, providing an unprecedented glimpse into the life of an 18th-century English gentleman and a fresh perspective on the enduring love story of Nelson and Emma.

Lily explained her motivation: “ I was prompted to write George Matcham’s biography after realising that, despite him having led an incredible life, and him featuring in every biography of Nelson and Emma, no dedicated biography had been written about him. Also, a well-known Emma biography portrays him as a penniless scrounger, but my own research didn’t back this up at all.

“I’m directly descended from Nelson and Emma as well as Nelson’s sister Kitty who married George Matcham because their grandchildren married. When I read about them in biographies and other texts, I feel protective of them as my family and want to defend them. The centuries of unjustified demonisation poor Emma’s been subjected to prompted me to found Emma Hamilton Society in 2016. I've since been fine honing my writer’s craft and felt ready to tackle George Matcham’s full-length biography, which I embarked upon last year.”

Lily's research benefited from the meticulous letter-keeping of George and Kitty Matcham’s descendants. 

A collection of family letters, published by their great-granddaughter Mary Eyre Matcham in 1911, is held by Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, which Lily visited for her research.

She added: “The reception for my book has been amazing so far, but it’s very newly released (23rd July 2024), so few people have yet read it. My next project is a fact-based historical fiction trilogy on Emma Hamilton’s life. I’ve written the first three chapters of the first book, which follows Emma’s early years. Not many people know that the musical My Fair Lady is based on Emma’s early life story!”

Lily Style's work brings a new depth to the historical narrative of her ancestors, offering readers a detailed and intimate look at the lives of George Matcham, Admiral Lord Nelson, and Emma Hamilton.