Mrs. O'Brien (formerly Mrs. Turner) is the aunt of Emma Watson and her siblings. Mrs. O'Brien and her first husband, Mr. Turner, took Emma in and raised her as their heir, and when he died two years ago, Mr. Turner left his fortune at his wife's disposal with the intention that she would have the power of providing for her own niece. Instead, Mrs. Turner married Captain O'Brien. She and her second husband settled in Ireland, and when Captain O'Brien decided Emma wasn't to join them, she returned to her father's house in Stanton.
Thirty years ago, the year before he married, Mrs. O'Brien danced a hop with Mr. Edwards in the old rooms at Bath. Mr. Edwards recalls her as a "fine woman."