Agnes Castle (c. 1860–1922) was a
Victorian era Irish author who worked with both her sisters and husband.
The stories that she co-wrote were the basis of several plays and films.
Life
Agnes Mary Frances Sweetman was born in
County Dublin to Michael James Sweetman (1829-1864), of Lamberton Park,
Queen's County,
JP,
High Sheriff of Queen's County
The High Sheriff of Queen's County was the British Crown's judicial representative in Queen's County, Ireland (now County Laois), Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the of ...
in 1852, and (Mary) Margaret, only child and heir of Michael Powell, of
Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin. She had two brothers and was the youngest of four sisters. The Sweetman family were landed gentry of Longtown,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, and per family tradition were "long settled in Dublin" and "previously resident near Callan and Newtown, County Kilkenny", tracing their line back to the mid-1500s. After her father's death, when she was a small child, the remaining family moved to
Brussels in 1873 and she spent her summers in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Her sisters,
Elinor Sweetman
Elinor Sweetman (c. 1860/1861 – 1922) was a Victorian era Irish poet and author who worked with both her sisters.
Early life
Elinor Mary Sweetman was born in County Dublin to Michael James Sweetman (1829-1864), of Lamberton Park, Queen's Cou ...
and
M. E. Francis
M. E. Francis was the pen name of Mary Elizabeth Blundell (née Sweetman; 1859 – 9 March 1930) who was a prolific Irish novelist. She was described as the best known woman novelist of the day.
Biography
Mary Elizabeth Sweetman was born at K ...
, were also writers. With her sisters she began two family magazines: the "Ivy Home Magazine" and "Ivy Home Library".
Agnes married
Egerton Castle
__NOTOC__
Egerton Castle M.A., F.S.A. (12 March 1858 – 16 September 1920) was an author, antiquarian, and swordsman, and an early practitioner of reconstructed historical fencing, frequently in collaboration with his colleague Captain Alfred ...
in 1883 and co-authored many novels with her husband.
She also wrote plays for children, as well as stories for magazines such as ''Temple Bar'', ''Cornhill Magazine'', and ''Macmillan''.
She has largely been ignored as a writer compared to her husband. Her daughter was Marie Louise Egerton Castle, who made a "considerable reputation" as author of a "History of Italian Literature" and reviser of
Cary's translation of
Dante's ''
Divine Comedy''; on 25 October 1922, at the
Brompton Oratory, she married Count Antoine de Meeûs, of Brussels.
Selected works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*The Bath of Comedy (Macmillan 1901)
*If Youth But Knew (Smith Elder 1906)
*Flower o' the Orange and Other Stories (Methuen 1908)
*The Star Dreamer (Constable 1903)
*The Composer (1911)
*Incomparable Bellairs (1903)
*Rose of the World (1905)
*The Heart of Lady Anne (1905)
*Flower o' the Orange and Other Tales of Bygone Days (1908)
*Panther's Cub (1911)
*The Golden Barrier (1913)
*Forlorn Adventures (1915)
*Minniglen (1918)
*Our Sentimental Garden illustrated by Charles Robinson (1914, USA; 1915, London)
*A Little House in War Time (1916)
*Wolf-Lure (1917)
*New Wine (1919)
*John Seneschal's Margaret (1920)
*Pamela Pounce; a tale of tempestuous petticoats (1921)
*Diamonds Cut Paste (1922)
*Wroth
*The Wind's Will (1916)
*"The Heart of Lord Mandeville", Vol 19, 1903-04
ncluded in Incomparabale Bellairs, 1903*"To the Tune of Little Red Heels", Windsor Magazine, Vol 19, 1903-04
ncluded in Incomparabale Bellairs, 1903*Vengeance Is Mine; Enchanted Casements, Hutchinson 1923
Filmography
Agnes co-wrote the books these films were based on.
*''
The Pride of Jennico
''The Pride of Jennico'' is a four-act play based on the book by the same name from Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle published in 1897 by the Macmillan Company.
The setting is the mid-1700s and the plot revolves around Captain Basil Jennico, a ...
'', directed by
J. Searle Dawley
James Searle Dawley (October 4, 1877 – March 30, 1949) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, stage actor, and playwright. Between 1907 and the mid-1920s, while working for Edison, Rex Motion Picture Company, Famous Player ...
(1914, based on ''
The Pride of Jennico
''The Pride of Jennico'' is a four-act play based on the book by the same name from Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle published in 1897 by the Macmillan Company.
The setting is the mid-1700s and the plot revolves around Captain Basil Jennico, a ...
'')
*''The Incomparable Bellairs'', directed by
Harold M. Shaw (UK, 1914, based on ''The Incomparable Bellairs'')
*''
The Secret Orchard
''The Secret Orchard'' is a 1915 American drama silent film directed by Frank Reicher and written by Channing Pollock and William C. deMille. The film stars Cleo Ridgely, Blanche Sweet, Edward MacKay, Gertrude Kellar, Carlyle Blackwell and Theod ...
'', directed by
Frank Reicher (1915, based on ''The Secret Orchard'')
*''
Sweet Kitty Bellairs
''Sweet Kitty Bellairs'' is a 1930 American historical musical comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green. The film is based on the 1900 novel, ''The Bath Comedy'' by Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle. Shot entirely in Technicolor, the film stars ...
'', directed by
James Young (1916, based on ''The Bath Comedy'')
*''
Rose of the World'', directed by
Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to:
People
*Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...
(1918, based on ''Rose of the World'')
*''
Sweet Kitty Bellairs
''Sweet Kitty Bellairs'' is a 1930 American historical musical comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green. The film is based on the 1900 novel, ''The Bath Comedy'' by Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle. Shot entirely in Technicolor, the film stars ...
'', directed by
Alfred E. Green
Alfred Edward Green (July 11, 1889 – September 4, 1960) was an American film director. Green entered film in 1912 as an actor for the Selig Polyscope Company. He became an assistant to director Colin Campbell. He then started to direct two-reel ...
(1930, based on ''The Bath Comedy'')
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Agnes
1860 births
1922 deaths
Irish women novelists
Victorian era