Margaret Leslie Hore-Ruthven

Hon. Margaret Leslie Davies (née Ruthven)

Hon. Margaret Leslie Hore-Ruthven (1902–1970) was one of the Ruthven Twins, or Ralli Twins, a pair of Bright Young Things scandalizing society for their antics.

Biography

Margaret Leslie Hore-Ruthven was born in 1902, the daughter of Walter Hore-Ruthven, 10th Lord Ruthven of Freeland and Mary Ruthven, Lady Ruthven of Freeland.[1] Her nickname was "Peggy".

As a young woman, Peggy and her twin sister Alison Mary Hore-Ruthven, were among the founders of the unofficial society of the Bright Young People and were dubbed by newspapers the "Ralli Twins" and by society as "A&P".[2] They used to dress-alike and were basically identical.[1] They were used to scandalize society, like when, at the coming-of-age party for Loel Guinness, went with very short, close-fitting silver dresses.[1][3]

The Ralli Twins

Both sisters modelled for a dress-making establishment. They were among the firsts in society to wear the low-heeled slippers making them fashionable. Under the name of Ralli Twins, they had a career dancing on stage, but family pressure had them renounce to this venture.[1][4]

According to Cecil Beaton, in his The Book of Beauty: "The Ruthven Twins are the most striking pair, always identically dressed; even to the brass necklace, they are indistinguishable from one another. Richly carved with large full mouths, high cheek bones, and knobbly noses, they are as decorative as a pair of Assyrian rams. They are Byzantine goddess, dressed like fairies in a circus design by Picasso, with their dark locks tied with little tinsel bows, their spangled ballet-skirts, and low-heeled shoes."[5]

In 1931 Margaret Leslie Hore-Ruthven married Peter Llewelyn Davies, the middle of five sons of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, one of the Llewelyn Davies boys befriended and later informally adopted by J. M. Barrie. Barrie publicly identified him as the source of the name for the title character in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. They had three sons: Ruthven (1933-1998), George (b. 1935) and Peter (1940-1989).[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Twins to Separate - 07 Dec 1928, Fri • Page 3". Pensacola News Journal: 3. 1928. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Dudgeon, Piers (2011). Captivated: J. M. Barrie, Daphne Du Maurier and the Dark Side of Neverland. Random House. p. 4. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Amusing Turns Brighten Coming-of-Age Party - 16 Jul 1927, Sat • Page 33". The Winnipeg Tribune: 33. 1927. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Balfour, Patrick. Society Racket. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Beaton, Cecil (1933). The Book Of Beauty. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.