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Duff Twysden

1891 – 1938

British socialite

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About Duff Twysden

Lived 1891 – 1938 (aged 47). Duff Twysden was a British socialite.

Mary Duff Stirling Smurthwaite, Lady Twysden (22 May 1891 – 27 June 1938) was a British socialite best known for being the model for Brett Ashley in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.

She was the eldest child of Baynes Wright Smurthwaite by his wife Charlotte Lilias Stirling. On 4 January 1914 her engagement to John Churchill Craigie, son of Pearl Richards Craigie, was announced, but her first marriage was to Edward Luttrell Grimston Byrom, son of Edward Byrom DL of Culver, Devon and Kersal Cell, Lancashire, who served as High Sheriff of Devon in 1888, by his wife Florence Maria, daughter and co-heiress of Marmaduke Jerard Grimston, of Grimston Garth and Kilnwick. Luttrell Byrom petitioned for divorce in 1915 citing one G. Henderson as a co-respondent. Her second marriage was at Edinburgh on 26 January 1917, to Sir Roger Thomas Twysden, a naval officer. He had succeeded as tenth Baronet on 1 May 1911, so Duff became known as Lady Twysden. Their son Anthony, later eleventh Baronet, was born on 11 March 1918. She died in Santa Fe, New Mexico of tuberculosis when she was forty-seven.

Twysden was famous for adopting a boyish, androgynous fashion style, with a bobbed haircut and workingmen's clothes, before this was fashionable. She was also sexually adventurous without apology at a time when this was scandalous.

In the 1988 miniseries Hemingway, starring Stacy Keach, Duff Twysden was played by Fiona Fullerton.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Also known as
Mary Duff Stirling Smurthwaite, Lady Twysden

People in Duff Twysden's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Duff Twysden's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Duff Twysden?

British socialite (1891–1938)

When was Duff Twysden born?

Duff Twysden was born on 22 May 1891.

When did Duff Twysden die?

Duff Twysden died on 27 June 1938.

What was Duff Twysden's occupation?

Duff Twysden was a socialite.

What nationality was Duff Twysden?

Duff Twysden was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Duff Twysden

· Wikidata: Q4489724

· DBpedia: Duff Twysden

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Duff Twysden. https://biography.guide/duff-twysden/

MLA: "Duff Twysden." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/duff-twysden/.

Chicago: "Duff Twysden." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/duff-twysden/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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