INTRODUCTION
On the 11th of July, 1836, Henry Parkes and Clarinda Varney were married at the Church of England church at Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham, the only witness present being either the clerk or the verger. Clarinda Varney was the only daughter of Robert Varney, a man well to do in his little world. My mother used to say she had the blood of Varney, the villain of Kenilworth, in her veins; and we children would assure her that was nothing to be proud of. She left her home in consequence of cruel persecution from her step-mother, and her father never spoke to her again. Often have I sat on my little stool close to her side and listened to the never-tiring story of her sufferings and trials, brightened only by the devoted love between her and my father. I believe she was engaged to him for two years
