AustLit

Josephine Bagot was the grand-daughter of Joseph Barritt of Maldon, Essex, who came to SA in 1839 and later settled at Lyndoch, and only child of Edwin (son of Joseph) and Jessie Anne Barritt. She grew up at Riverside, Lyndoch, but was privately educated in Adelaide, going to Miss Meek's and Miss Jacob's schools. This schooling was unsatisfactory for an enthusiastic scholar such as she was, and it was not until she went to Fairlight, in Melbourne, to complete her education, that she was able to develop her full potential as a student. Ida Hines, the headmistress, was a great influence on her and remained a family friend for many years.

Josephine always had an ambition to write, and sent short stories to The Register, but it was a period where "bush" stories were in vogue, and her stories were rejected. Like many others of her time she married rather than taking up a career, marrying Walter Hervey Bagot, architect, in 1908 at the age of 19. On their honeymoon he introduced her to England and Europe, and a whole new world of art, architecture and literature which were to become her consuming interest for the rest of her life. They lived at "Forest Lodge", a house near Aldgate built by Walter Bagot's father, John Bagot. Its garden was distinguished by its collection of trees, especially conifers, and parts of it were developed in the Italian style. Josephine was particularly interested in its flowers, filling the house with them and arranging them in the ceramic bowls they collected overseas.

The couple had three children, and Josephine educated them at home for a number of years. She was an extensive reader, was very well-informed, and had a keen interest in research, as is shown in the diaries of her travels in Italy. She wrote in the diaries every night while travelling, writing for herself, not for publication. She died at the age of 55 after a long illness. After her death her husband had three volumes of her writings published for private circulation. In Reveries in Retrospection her descriptions of Italy are interspersed with reflections on her life, her home and the war.