Susanna Howard, Countess of Suffolk

Susanna Howard, countess of Suffolk born Lady Susanna Rich (1627–1649) was an English aristocrat. She was known for being devout and as an example of a godly life.

Life Howard was born in the spring of 1627. Her parents were Isabel Rich, Countess of Holland (born Cope) and Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland. She showed talents for, and interest in, learning, poetry and religion. Her father probably knew poets from the court of Henrietta Maria and she had a remarkable memory. She was a particular admirer of George Herbert and his best known work "The Temple".

She would learn sections of the bible and it was said that she could recall a sermon she had heard almost word perfect. Every day she would use the notes of Giovanni Diodati to assist her in reading six chapters of the bible. She was said to always wear black and to not wear any adornment, although a portrait reveals that this was not always the case. Before they married, her husband had supported the king in a war against the Scots. After they married and as the civil war progressed he sided with Parliament and he attended the House of Lords. Their first child was named Essex Howard and she was followed by two sons, neither of whom survived infancy. Howard developed an illness that affected her mind and she died on 19 May 1649, aged 22. She was buried at St Mary the Virgin church in Saffron Walden.