Mary Arkell

Mary Arkell (1838–1892), Aleister Crowley's first governess.

“He remembers his first governess, Miss Arkell, a grey-haired lady with traces of beard upon her large flat face and a black dress of what he calls bombasine, though to this hour he does not know what bombasine may be, and thinks that the dress was of alpaca or even, it may be of smooth hard silk.”—Chapter 1

• Arkell

• Chapter 1

• Richard Kaczynski, Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley 1556438990 — “While Crowley only gives surnames for Miss Arkell … evidence from the 1881 Warwickshire census identifies them. For instance, Mary Arkell of 31 Campion Terrace, Meanington, is listed as a 'daily governess' living with three of her sisters … her birth and death records are also in Warwickshire” (571)