Christabel Rose Coleridge (25 May 1843 – 14 November 1921) was an English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and an editor of girls' magazines, sometimes in collaboration with the novelist

Charlotte Mary Yonge Charlotte Mary Yonge (11 August 1823 – 24 March 1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and showed her keen interest in matters of public h ...

. Her views on the role of women in society were conservative.

Early life

A granddaughter of the poet,

Samuel Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordswort ...

, Christabel was born at St Mark's College, Chelsea, while her father, Derwent, was headmaster there. Her name pays homage to

's poem " Christabel". For a time, Coleridge helped her brother

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

to run a school, but her ambition was to be a writer.

Writings, friendships

She went on to publish more than 15 novels. The first was a children's historical story called ''Lady Betty'' (1869). ''Minstrel Dick'' (1896) is set mainly in the 14th-century

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...

court of the dying

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

. Her fiction expressed her concern with morality, and several of her books were published by the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a United Kingdom, UK-based Christians, Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christians, Christian faith in the Un ...

. Christabel was a friend of Charlotte Yonge's, distantly related to her through Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, who like Christabel had been one of Yonge's informal society, the Goslings. They collaborated on several writing projects, such as ''The Miz Maze or The Winkworth Puzzle: A Story in Letters, by Nine Authors'' (1883). In the early 1890s, Christabel and her "

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

" edited '' The Monthly Packet'', which Yonge had founded 40 years earlier as an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

magazine for middle-class girls, as ''The Monthly Packet of Evening Readings for Younger Members of the English Church''. Coleridge was the sole editor during its last six years, from 1894 to 1899. She also edited a magazine intended for the working-class members of the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

-based

Girls' Friendly Society The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) is a charitable organisation that empowers girls and young women aged 5 to 25, encouraging them to develop their full potential through programs that provide training, confidence building, and other educational ...

. After Yonge's death she wrote and edited the biographical ''Charlotte Mary Yonge: Her Life and Letters'' (1903). Another friend was Frances Mary Peard (1835–1923), who wrote more than 40 books published from 1867 to 1909, mostly domestic novels and short-story volumes.

Life's work

Christabel Rose Coleridge had at least 89 works of hers published in a total of at least 286 publications. In 1880, Christabel moved to Torquay when her father retired there. She had conservative ideas about the role of women in society, and a collection of her essays on the subject was published in 1894, ''The Daughters Who Have Not Revolted''. Her last novel, ''Miss Lucy: A Character Study'', was published in 1908."Miss Lucy. A character study..., 1908."
Main catalogue,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. Retrieved 8 June 2016. Christabel Rose Coleridge's life ended on 14 November 1921 in Torquay, Devon, at the age of 78.

References

*Sandra Kemp, Charlotte Mitchell, and David Trotter, ''Edwardian Fiction: An Oxford Companion'' (Oxford University Press, 1997) *Cherry Durrant, "Derwent Coleridge", ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' (2004)

External links

''Please Tell Me a Tale'' (1885 anthology)
at

Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature The Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature in the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries contains more than 130,000 books and serials published in Great Britain ...

– contains "Blanche's Maying" by "Miss C. R. Coleridge" * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Christabel Rose 1843 births 1921 deaths 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers Anglican writers Christabel English women children's writers English women novelists People from Chelsea, London Writers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 19th-century English writers