Esther and Swift's sister Mrs Fenton who had been her companion in 1711. Her health began to fail in her mid-forties. In 1726 she was thought to be dying; Swift rushed back from London to be with her but found her better. The following year it became clear that she was gravely ill. After sinking slowly for months she died on 28 January 1728, and was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Swift was inconsolable at Esther's death and wrote The Death of Mrs. Johnson in tribute to her; when he died he was buried beside her at his own request. A ward in St Patrick's University Hospital is named "Stella" in her memory. Portrayals In the 1994 film Words Upon the Window Pane, based on the play by William Butler Yeats, Stella is played by Brid Brennan. The plot turns on a seance in Dublin in the 1920s, where the ghosts of Swift, Stella and Vanessa appear to resume their ancient quarrel. In the 1982 soviet film The House That Swift Built, Stella is played by Aleksandra Zakharova. Publications (fiction) The Basilisk of St. James (London, 1945, Chapman and Hall) by Elizabeth Myers, wife of Littleton C. Powys, who was a brother of John Cowper Powys. The novel has as its main protagonist Jonathan Swift. Central to the plot is the personal conflict that arose from Swift's relationships with both Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa) and Esther Johnson (Stella). Morgan-Cole, Trudy J. The violent friendship of Esther Johnson, Penguin Canada, 2006.() Dean Swift and the Two Esthers by Lyndon Orr 1856 - 1914 from Famous Affinities of History: The Romance of Devotion References 1681 births 1728 deaths Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin People from Richmond, London