ABSTRACT
Marianne Young (1811–1897), born Ridgeway, married an East India Company officer, Thomas Postans, in 1833. She lived in and wrote extensively about India, work that was well received in Britain. After her husband’s sudden death in 1846, she returned to England where she married William Henry Young, an army surgeon, in 1848. She accompanied him to the Crimea in 1854, and quickly published an account. In the piece below, Young presents a lively account of her experiences, although she clearly accepts many of the stereotypes and moral judgements being applied to army wives. It should be noted that slavery was still legal in the Ottoman Empire, although there were some restrictions on holding Caucasians as such. After the war, the Youngs retired to Somerset, where Marianne lived until her death.
