Lady Hibiscus Cromwell
Pâtissier, Culinarian and Connoisseur of Fine Teas
Spécialiste de la Floriculture
Most Honorable Marchioness of Cromwell is a Great British Colonialist from the Crown Colony of Burma, India. She is a third-generation resident of Mandalay, where she and her brother are Colonial Administrators of the family’s tea plantations.
Lady Hibiscus, as she is called informally, is known for her joie de vivre, love of gourmet cuisine, and for her signature style of bobbed hairdo and flowers adoring her hair or clothing. She enjoys classic European-style dress but also relishes “Oriental” style clothing such as cheongsams and Chinese silk pajamas, in which she can often be found exploring the far reaches of the globe.
Lady Hibiscus Cromwell is the surviving widow of the Marquis of Cromwell. While the noble title harkens back to the motherland in Great Britain, both Lady and Lord Cromwell grew up in the British Raj. He was a high ranking official in Singapore when the couple met over Singapore slings at the bar of the famed Raffles Hotel there. It was love at first site and he quickly got his post transferred to Mandalay where they would be married and settle into their new life together.
Lord Cromwell sadly met his untimely death in a cricket match when the ball smacked the back of his head. He was known for his love of Burmese culture, tea leaf salads and gin and tonics.
Lady Cromwell approached widowhood with grace and vigor. Based on her lifelong love of flowers, she adopted the hobby of amateur botanist, searching Burma for rare species of orchid, rhododendron and of course, her namesake hibiscus. This pursuit would eventually inspire her to travel abroad and explore the world in search of elusive exotic species in the wild. Somewhere in the midst of her explorations of hibiscus species native to the North American desert she crossed paths with a detachment of the Royal Exploration Corps, and the rest is history. The Corps knew this was the sort of explorer they wanted in their ranks. And while she presented a demure exterior, the Corps suspects there is another side to her as well.
Her next expedition, still in the planning stages, will be to the Hawaiian islands in search of the ultra rare white Molokai hibiscus (Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus) and Hibiscus kokiʻo ʻula, which grows on the island of Kaua’i. No doubt it will prove to be quite the adventure. Kungaloosh!