Background
Desart was the son of John Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart, and Lady Elizabeth Lucy Campbell.
Desart was the son of John Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart, and Lady Elizabeth Lucy Campbell.
He succeeded to the title of 6th Baron Desart, 4th Viscount Desart and 4th Earl of Desart on the 1 April 1865
He had an older sister and two younger brothers. The other, Captain Otway Cuffe went on to be mayor of Kilkenny and a notable person with the community. Desert was also a literary man who wrote fifteen novels during his life.
His most successful works were mystery thrillers. Only a Woman's Love (1869), Herne Lodge (1888) and The Little Chatelaine (1889)
Beyond These Voices (1870) was set against the background of the Fenian Rising. Other titles included:
Children of Nature: A Story of Modern London (1878)
The Honourable Ella (1879)
Lord and Lady Piccadilly (1887)
Mervyn O'Connor and other tales (1880)
Grandborough (1894)
The raid of the "Detrimental" (1897)
Kelverdale (1879)
Helen's vow (1891)
Love and pride on an iceberg : and other tales (1887)
Lord Desart married Maria Emma Georgina Preston, daughter of Captain Thomas Henry Preston and Georgina Geneviève Louisa Campbell, on 1 June 1871.
They had one daughter, Kathleen. They divorced in 1878. The Countess of Desart went on to become a politician in her own right and died in June 1933, aged 75.