Ada Ellen Bayly (25 March 1857 – 8 February 1903), also known as Edna Lyall, 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 ...

, who "supported the women's suffrage movement from an early age."''XIX Century Fiction, Part II: L–Z'', London: Jarndyce, 2020, Item 34.

Biography

Bayly was born in Brighton, the youngest of four children of a barrister. Early in life she lost both her parents, so that she spent her youth with an uncle in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and in a

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

private school. Bayly never married. She seems to have spent her adult life living with her two married sisters and her brother, a clergyman in

Bosbury Bosbury is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, approximately north of Ledbury. The small River Leadon flows through the parish, passing along the west side of the village.Ordnance Survey mapping Bosbury shares a parish co ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. In 1879, she published her first novel, ''Won by Waiting'', under the pseudonym "Edna Lyall" (apparently derived from transposing letters from Ada Ellen Bayly). The book was not a success. Success came with ''We Two'', based on the life of

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Br ...

, a social reformer and advocate of free thought. Her historical novel ''In the Golden Days'' was the last book read to

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

on his deathbed; while ''Hope the Hermit'' was a bestseller set in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and later an inspiration for

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among ...

's ''

Rogue Herries ''Rogue Herries'' is a historical romance novel by Hugh Walpole which was first published in 1930. It is set in Cumberland in the 18th century. The title character is Francis Herries who is nicknamed Rogue for his wild and reckless ways. The n ...

''. ''To Right the Wrong'' (2nd ed. 1894) is a historical novel about

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

and the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Bayly wrote in all eighteen novels, many of them offering interesting explorations of the writer's creative process. Part of her success was due to her practice of using characters from one novel in a different capacity in her next.

Selected works

*''Won by Waiting'', 1879 *''Donovan'', 1882 *''We Two'', sequel of the former, 1884 *''In the Golden Days'', 1885 *''Autobiography of a Slander'', 1887 *''To Right the Wrong'', 3 vols, 1894 *''Doreen: The Story of a Singer'', 1894 *''The Autobiography of a Truth'', 1896 *''Wayfaring Men: A Novel'', 1896 *''Hope the Hermit'', 1898 *''The Burgess Letters'', 1902

Citations

References

External links

* * * * *
''Won by Waiting'' (1892) Appleton, New York (Google ebook)

Golden Gale
(all eighteen of her works of fiction)
Jesse Maria Escreet (1904) ''The life of Edna Lyall (Ada Ellen Bayly)'', Longmans, Green, and Co., London (Google ebook)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayly, Ada Ellen 1857 births 1903 deaths 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English writers English women novelists Writers from Brighton English feminists Victorian novelists Victorian women writers Pseudonymous women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers English women historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers from Herefordshire

Biography

Selected works

See also

Citations

References

Further reading

External links