From good time girl to benefactress.
Yolande Lyne Stephens was born in Paris in 1812, the daughter of Jean-Louis Duvernay, a teacher of dance. She joined the Paris Opera and became one of its major dancers. In 1833 she danced at the Theatre Royal in London for a season. The 13-year-old future Queen Victoria wrote in her diary: “Mademoiselle Duvernay is a very nice person, she has a very fine figure and dances beautifully, so quietly and so gracefully.” Yolande inevitably had a number of financial “protectors”, including briefly the 6th Duke of Devonshire among others.
