Augusta Theodosia Drane (28 December 1823 – 29 April 1894) was an English writer and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

.Anselm Nye: "Drane, Augusta Theodosia..." ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004)''
Retrieved 28 December 2018.
/ref> She became a religious writer and a poet.

Life

Born at Bromley, now

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...

, then in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, now in London, she was the youngest daughter of Thomas Drane, an East Indian mercantile executive, and brought up in the

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 ...

faith. She was taught initially at home and then for two years at a

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

school. Her father's extensive library encouraged her reading and studying habits. The family moved to Babbacombe,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, when she was 14. Drane was influenced by

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Uni ...

teachings and joined the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Tiverton around 1850. In 1852, after a six-month stay in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, she joined the third order of St Dominic, to which she belonged for over forty years. She was prioress of the convent in

Stone, Staffordshire Stone is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England; it is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of the county town of Stafford, 7 miles (11 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent and 15 miles (24 km) north of Rugeley. As a notable c ...

, where she died aged 70.

Works

Drane wrote, and published anonymously, an essay questioning the morality of

Tractarianism The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Uni ...

, which was attributed to

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

. Her major works in prose and verse are: ''The History of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

'' (1857; enlarged edition, 1891); ''The Life of St

Catherine of Siena Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, ...

'' (1880; 2nd ed., 1899); ''Christian Schools and Scholars'' (1867); ''The Knights of St John'' (1858); ''Songs in the Night and Other Poems'' (1876); and the ''Three Chancellors'' (1859), a sketch of the lives of

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of ...

William of Waynflete William Waynflete (11 August 1486), born William Patten, was Headmaster of Winchester College (1429–1441), Provost of Eton College (1442–1447), Bishop of Winchester (1447–1486) and Lord Chancellor of England (1456–1460). He founded Mag ...

and Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

. A complete list of her writings appears in ''Memoir of Mother Francis Raphael, O.SD., Augusta Theodosia Drane'', edited by B. Wilberforce, O.P. (London, 1895).

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drane, Augusta Theodosia 1823 births 1894 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Dominican nuns English Catholic poets English religious writers 19th-century English Roman Catholic nuns People from Bromley-by-Bow People from Stone, Staffordshire 19th-century English poets