Although it has sometimes been asserted that author Jonathan Swift secretly married Esther Johnson (known as “Stella”) in 1716, they did not live together, and there is no evidence to support this story. Swift met her during his residence at Moor Park in Surrey, England; she was the daughter of the housekeeper of Sir William Temple, a statesman and distant relative of Swift’s mother. Swift was employed by Sir William and was Stella’s tutor when she was a child.
Journal to Stella is a series of letters written by Swift when he was living in London between 1710 and 1713; they are addressed to Stella and her companion, Rebecca Dingley, both of whom were living in Dublin at the time.