Possible picture of Sophia Brunel? Private collection, used with permission. Changed that today in our fantastic blog. Let our Finance Manager Sarah Kuklewicz put that right:. William was a Plymouth Naval contractor. He died not long after Sophia was born. I know she had a mix of older brothers and sisters. Her sister Elizabeth married Thomas Mudge, who was the son of the Thomas Mudge who invented the lever escapement, a major feature of pocket watches from its invention in around well into the s.
When she was around 16, her brother decided to send her to France to learn French. So, on the 2nd December , at 17 years old, Sophia gets onto a boat at Portsmouth for the 2 day journey to Le Havre. She travelled with a couple of friends, but when they arrived they realised the extent of the political unrest, and decided that it was not safe to be in France.
They were quickly able to secure return passage, but Sophia had become ill on the journey so could not immediately return. Now, given that one of her brothers is listed as having died of sea-sickness, it may have been important to her not to get back on a boat right then! Marc got back to Rouen on the 17th of January, and insisted he fell in love at his first sight of Sophia.
He kept diaries all his life, and rarely failed to celebrate that day. Carpentier urged propriety, but they were drawn to each other, and were young and impetuous. The violence in France was escalating. The next few months saw Sophia settled in at Rouen, but also saw frequent violent clashes on the streets. Marc was known to be a royalist, and was a somewhat outspoken and sarcastic young man, so was in very real danger.
One night, when there was a particularly dangerous riot, he abandoned his self-control and asked Sophia to marry him. She agreed to the engagement, however the political situation was getting more fraught. It went from scuffles on the streets to bloody oppression, and you were risking arrest if you were even suspected of being royalist. Attempting to flee, however, was seen as treason.
