Janet Erskine Stuart
An intellectually gifted child, Janet was the youngest of the thirteen children in the Anglican Rectory at Cottesmore, in Rutland, England. Typically of her social class and time, she was educated at home and was fortunate in her governesses who included very capable, well trained German and Swiss teachers with whom she learned fluent German and French, and studied philosophy, maths and literature. With the help of one, she pursued a theological interest that began when she was 13, sparked by a conversation with a brother who was reading Aristotle and who declared to her that all creatures had a ‘last end’ or ultimate purpose and goal in their lives, and asked her what hers was. Janet did not know, but set herself to find out.
