Lucy Bethia (Colquhoun) Walford (17 April 1845 – 11 May 1915) was a Scottish novelist and artist, who wrote 45 books, the majority of them "light-hearted domestic comedies". Accurate writing was a big consideration for her.

Life

Walford was born Lucy Bethia Colquhoun on 17 April 1845 at Portobello, a seaside resort then outside

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the seventh child of Frances Sarah Fuller Maitland (1813–1877), a poet and hymn writer and John Colquhoun (1805–1885) of

Luss Luss (, 'herb') is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. The village is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. History Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its original name is ''Clacha ...

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

, author of ''The Moor and the Loch''. Her paternal grandmother, Janet Colquhoun (1781–1846), was a religious writer, and her aunt,

Catherine Sinclair Catherine Sinclair (17 April 1800 – 6 August 1864) was a List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and children's writer, who departed from the moralising approach common in that period. She is credited with discovering that the author o ...

(1800–1864) was a prolific novelist and children's writer.ODNB entry. A bubble by L

Walford was educated privately by German governesses. Her reading included works by

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 ...

and

Susan Ferrier Susan Edmonstone Ferrier (7 September 1782 – 5 November 1854) was a List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist. Her novels, giving vivid accounts of Scottish life and presenting sharp views on women's education, remained popular throughout ...

, and in later years

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

. The family moved to Edinburgh in 1855, where guests included the artist Noël Paton, who encouraged her to take up painting. In 1868 and several succeeding years she exhibited at the annual exhibition of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

. Her first short piece of writing appeared in the ''

Sunday Magazine A Sunday magazine is a publication inserted into a Sunday newspaper. It also has been known as a Sunday supplement (publishing), supplement, Sunday newspaper magazine or Sunday magazine section. Traditionally, the articles in these magazines cover ...

'' in May 1869. On 23 June 1869 she married Alfred Saunders Walford (died 1907), a magistrate of

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and they moved to London. They had five daughters and two sons. Their children were said to be "never put aside for her work" and "constantly with their mother".Black, ''Notable women authors'', 1906, p. 26 ff. She died on 11 May 1915 at her home in

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

, London.

Works

When writing, Walford sought to be as accurate as possible. Her brothers were approached to answer questions she had on military life. Her father was an expert on sports. The protagonist of her first novel, ''Mr. Smith: a Part of his Life'' (1874) was taken from an actual man named Smith who was found dead, as described in her novel. It pleased

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and led to her being received at court. It was also admired by

Coventry Patmore Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (23 July 1823 – 26 November 1896) was an English poet and critic, literary critic. He is best known for his book of poetry ''The Angel in the House'', a narrative poem about the Victorian era, Victorian ideal of ...

. By the age of 65 Walford had written 45 full-length novels, including ''Pauline'' (1877), ''The Baby's Grandmother'' (1884), ''Stiff Necked Generation'' (1889), and ''The Havoc of a Smile'' (1890). She also wrote for London journals. Her last novel, ''David and Jonathan on the Riviera'', appeared in 1914.ODNB entry; Krugman, Andrew

A Scottish Novelist; Mrs. L. B. Walford's "Recollections of a Lifetime of Sixty-five Years" (''New York Times'', 19 February 1911).

Partial bibliography

Fiction: *''Mr. Smith: A Part of His Life'' (187

*''Nan and Other Tales'' (1875) *''Pauline'' (187

*''Cousins'' (187

*''Troublesome Daughters'' (1880) *''Dick Netherby'' (188

*''The Baby's Grandmother'' (188

*''The History of a Week'' (1886) *''A Stiff-Necked Generation'' (188

*''Her Great Idea'' (188

*''A Mere Child'' (188

*''A Sage of Sixteen'' (188

*''Havoc of a Smile'' (1890) *''The Mischief of Monica'' (189

*''The One Good Guest'' (189

*''For Grown-up Children'' (1892) *''The Matchmaker'' (189

*''A Question of Penmanship'' (1893) *''Ploughed'' (189

*''A Bubble'' (189

*''Frederick'' (189

*''Successors to the Title'' (189

*''Iva Kildare'' (189

*''Leddy Marget'' (189

*''The Intruders'' (1898) *''The Archdeacon'' (189

*''Sir Patrick the Puddock'' (1900) *''A Little Legacy and Other Stories'' (190

*''One of Ourselves'' (1900) *''Charlotte'' (1902) *''A Dream's Fulfilment'' (1902) *''David and Jonathan on the Riviera'' (1914) Non-fiction *''Twelve English Authoresses'' (189

*
Recollections of a Scottish Novelist
' (London, Williams and Norgate, 1910) *
Memories of Victorian London
' (London, E. Arnold, 1912)

References

External links

Emory Women Writers Resource ProjectVictorian Fiction OnlineWorldcat Results
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walford, Lucy Bethia 1845 births 1915 deaths Victorian women writers Victorian novelists 20th-century Scottish women writers 20th-century Scottish novelists Scottish women novelists 20th-century Scottish autobiographers People from Portobello, Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish women writers Writers from Edinburgh Scottish women autobiographers Scottish women short story writers 19th-century Scottish novelists 19th-century Scottish short story writers Victorian short story writers

Life

Works

Partial bibliography

References

Further reading

External links