Who is The Baroness Erisso from Faithfull and what is their importance?

The Baroness Erisso (Eva) was Marianne's mother. Eva was descended from Austro-Hungarian aristocrats, and she was employed as a dancer and actress in her early years. She married Marianne's father Major Glynn Faithfull in order to escape Vienna.

Marianne's mother was an extremely dramatic woman, and never quite fit in to English society. After divorcing Marianne's father, she moved to Reading, where she lived in poverty. In the end, Eva became an alcoholic.