Vanessa (butterfly) Vanessa (butterfly) Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies in the tribe Nymphalini. It has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals (e.g., red admiral, Indian red admiral, New Zealand red admiral), the Kamehameha, and the painted ladies of subgenus "Cynthia": painted lady, American painted lady, West Coast lady, Australian painted lady, etc. For African admirals see genus, "Antanartia". Recently, several members traditionally considered to be in the genus "Antanartia" have been determined to belong within the genus "Vanessa". The name of the genus may have been taken from the character Vanessa in Jonathan Swift's
To Have and to Hold To Have and to Hold To Have and to Hold (1899) is a novel by American author Mary Johnston. Published by Houghton Mifflin, it was the bestselling novel in the United States in the following year (1900). "To Have and to Hold" is the story of an English soldier, Ralph Percy, turned Virginian explorer in colonial Jamestown. Ralph buys a wife for himself - a girl named Jocelyn Leigh - little knowing that she is the escaping ward of King James I, fleeing a forced marriage to Lord Carnal. Jocelyn hardly loves Ralph - indeed, she seems to abhor him.