Florence Louisa Barclay (2 December 1862 – 10 March 1921) was an English

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

ist and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer.

Biography

She was born Florence Louisa Charlesworth on the island of Jersey. Her parents were Maria Amelia (born Beddome) and Samuel Beddome Charlesworth. Her father was 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 ...

rector of

Limpsfield Limpsfield is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs close to Oxted railway station and the A25 road, A25.Maud Ballington Booth Maud Elizabeth Charlesworth (September 13, 1865 – August 26, 1948) later changed her name to Maud Ballington Booth, was a Salvation Army leader and co-founder of the Volunteers of America. Early life and education Maude Charlesworth was b ...

, the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

leader and co-founder of the

Volunteers of America Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

. When Florence was seven years old, the family moved to

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. In 1881, Florence Charlesworth abandoned the idea of a musical career and she married the Rev. Charles W. Barclay who was her father's retiring curate. They

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

ed in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, where, in

Shechem Shechem ( ; , ; ), also spelled Sichem ( ; ) and other variants, was an ancient city in the southern Levant. Mentioned as a Canaanite city in the Amarna Letters, it later appears in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israe ...

, they reportedly discovered

Jacob's Well Jacob's Well, also known as Jacob's Fountain or the Well of Shechem, Sychar, is a List of Christian holy sites in the Holy Land, Christian holy site located in Balata village, a suburb of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus in t ...

, the place where, according to the

Gospel of St John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven " signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the resurrection ...

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

met the woman of

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

. Florence Barclay and her husband settled in

Hertford Heath Hertford Heath is a village and civil parish near the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,672. Geography It is located on a Heath (habitat), heath above the River Lea valley, on its south ...

, in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, where she was more outgoing than her husband. She played the organ, swam and cycled and ran Friday night entertainments. bible classes and mother's meetings. She became the mother of eight children. Besides the organ she continued her musical interest by taking singing lessons with the French opera singer

Blanche Marchesi Blanche Marchesi (4 April 1863 – 15 December 1940) was a French mezzo-soprano or dramatic soprano and voice teacher best known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner. She was the daughter of Mathilde Marchesi, Mathilde Graumann ...

. In her early forties health problems left her bedridden for a time and she passed the hours by writing what became her first romance novel titled ''The Wheels of Time''. Her next novel, '' The Rosary'', a story of undying love, was published in 1909 and its success eventually resulted in its being translated into eight languages and made into five

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

s, also in several languages. The novel was the No.1 bestselling novel of 1910 in the United States.According to the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, The enduring popularity of the book was such that more than twenty-five years later, Sunday Circle magazine serialized the story and in 1926 the prominent French

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Alexandre Bisson Alexandre Bisson (9 April 1848 – 27 January 1912) was a French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States. Remembered as a sig ...

adapted the book as a three-act

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

for the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian stage. Florence Barclay wrote eleven books in all, including a work of non-fiction. Her novel ''

The Mistress of Shenstone The Mistress of Shenstone may refer to: * The Mistress of Shenstone (novel), a 1910 romance novel by Florence L. Barclay * The Mistress of Shenstone (film), a 1921 silent film based on the novel {{DEFAULTSORT:Mistress of Shenstone, The ...

'' (1910) was made into a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

of the same title in 1921. Her

short novel A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

''Under the Mulberry Tree'' appeared in the ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century ...

'' from April through September 1911. Florence Barclay died in 1921 at the age of fifty-eight while undergoing surgery. ''The Life of Florence Barclay: a study in personality'' was published anonymously that year by

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...

"by one of Her Daughters." In 2023 the

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'') ...

included her,

Mrs. Disney Leith Mary Charlotte Julia Leith, née Gordon (1840–1926), best known as Mrs Disney Leith, was a British novelist and traveller, as well as a childhood friend and cousin of the poet Swinburne. After her husband's death she visited Iceland numerous time ...

Gabrielle Wodnil Ella Lindow aka Gabrielle Wodnil and Ella Wodnil (12 February 1880 – 27 April 1933) was a British novelist and songwriter. Life Lindow was born in 1880 in Islington. She was the only child of Angelina (born Levy in London) and her Russian born h ...

and

Bessie Marchant Bessie Marchant (1862–1941) was a prolific English writer of adventure novels featuring young female heroines. She published most of her work under the name Bessie Marchant, but occasionally published as Bessie Marchant Comfort or Mrs J.A. Comfo ...

in new biographies of eleven Victorian writers who have caught the attention of academics.

Bibliography

*''Guy Mervyn'' (1891) under the pen-name of Brandon Roy (revised by one of her daughters in 1932) *''The Wheels of Time'' (1908) *'' The Rosary'' (1909) *''

'' (1910) *''The Following of the Star'' (1911) *''Through the Postern Gate'' (1911) *''The Upas Tree'' (1912) *''The Broken Halo'' (1913) *''The Wall of Partition'' (1914) *''The Golden Censer'' (1914) *'' My Heart's Right There'' (1914) *''In Hoc Vince: The Story of the Red Cross Flag'' (1915) (non-fiction) *''The White Ladies of Worcester'' (1917) *''Returned Empty'' (1920) *''Shorter Works'' (1923) collection of short stories and articles published posthumously

Film adaptations

*''

'', directed by Henry King (1921, based on the novel ''The Mistress of Shenstone'') *', directed by

Tony Lekain Tony Lekain, real name Tony Théodore Weill, (5 November 1888 – 26 December 1966) was a French film director, who was active during the 1920s and 1930s. Selected filmography * '' Ferragus'' (1923) * 1926: '' Le Fauteuil 47'' with Gaston Ra ...

(France, 1934, based on the novel '' The Rosary'') *''

El rosario ''El rosario'' is a 1944 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Juan José Ortega. The film is based on a novel by Florence L. Barclay. It stars Andrea Palma, Tomás Perrín, and Tana Devodier Tana may refer to: Places Africa * Lake Tana, a ...

'', directed by

Juan José Ortega Juan José Ortega (October 27, 1904 – December 27, 1996) was a Mexican film director, producer and screenwriter. He was active during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, and directed over 40 films between 1942 and 1966. Filmography Director * Fl ...

(Mexico, 1944, based on the novel '' The Rosary'')

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Florence Louisa 1862 births 1921 deaths British women romantic fiction writers English romantic fiction writers English women non-fiction writers English women novelists English women short story writers Jersey writers People from Limehouse People from Oxted People from Saint Helier Writers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Writers from Surrey