Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Who was Rebecca Dingley in Jonathan Swiftâs life?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift, detail of an oil painting by Charles Jervas, c. 1718; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Rebecca Dingley was the long-term companion of Esther Johnson, who was famously known as "Stella" in the life of Jonathan Swift.12
After Johnson moved to Ireland around 1700 or 1701, she and Dingley lived together. Dingley is perhaps best known as one of the two recipients of the Journal to Stella, a series of intimate and descriptive letters that Swift wrote while he was living in London between 1710 and 1713.312