Emilia Tennyson known simply as Emily within her family, was a younger sister of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and the fiancée of Arthur Henry Hallam, for whom Tennyson's great poem, In Memoriam A.H.H.

In Memoriam A.H.H.

In Memoriam A.H.H. is a poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, completed in 1849. It is a requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage in Vienna in 1833...

, was written. Tennyson met Hallam through her brother, and they were engaged in 1832. They were never to marry, as he died suddenly while traveling abroad in 1833. There was considerable concern for her wellbeing on the death of Arthur.

She later married Richard Jesse, then a Midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 in the British Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

; he rose to at least Captain

Captain (Royal Navy)

Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...

. Their marriage came as a considerable shock to Jane Elton, Arthur's cousin. He probably died died two years after her, in 1889. Their eldest son was given the forenames Arthur Henry Hallam.

Tennyson is featured as a character in the story "Conjugial Angel" by A. S. Byatt

A. S. Byatt

Dame Antonia Susan Duffy, DBE is an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner...

in the book Angels and Insects.