daphne phelps (23 june 191130 november 2005) was a british writer who spent most of her life in taormina, sicily. she lived in casa cuseni, an elegant villa designed and built by her uncle, the industrialist robert hawthorn kitson in 1905 and, over the years she entertained numerous writer and artist friends including bertrand russell, henry faulkner, roald dahl and tennessee williams. she was the author of "a house in sicily" (1999), published by virago.