Henrietta Eliza Vaughan Stannard (née Palmer; 13 July 1856 – 13 December 1911) writing under the pseudonym of John Strange Winter, was a British novelist. She was founding president of the Writers' Club in 1892, and president of the Society of Women Journalists in 1901 to 1903.

Early life and education

She was born on 13 January 1856 in Trinity Lane,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, the only daughter of Henry Vaughan Palmer, rector of St. Margaret's, York, and his wife Emily Catherine Cowling. Her father had been an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

before taking religious orders, and was descended from several generations of soldiers. Her great-great-great-grandmother was the actress

Hannah Pritchard Hannah Pritchard (née Vaughan, 1711 – 1768) was an English actress who regularly played opposite David Garrick. She performed many significant Shakespearean roles and created on stage many important female roles by contemporary playwrights. ...

. Henrietta was educated at Bootham House School, York.

Career

In 1874, she began her career as a novelist by writing under the pseudonym of 'Violet Whyte' for the ''Family Herald.'' Her connection with that journal lasted for ten years, and she contributed to it 42 short stories issued as supplements, besides many long serials. In 1881, appeared ''Cavalry Life,'' a collection of regimental sketches, and in 1883 ''Regimental Legends.'' Both bore the name of 'John Strange Winter,' a character in one of the tales in the former volume. The publisher refused to bring out the books under a feminine pseudonym. The public assumed the author to be a cavalry officer. She retained the name for literary and business purposes through life. Henrietta Palmer married at Fulford, York, on 26 February 1884, Arthur Stannard and they had a son, scriptwriter

Eliot Stannard Eliot Stannard (1 March 1888 – 21 November 1944) was an English screenwriter and director. He was the son of civil engineer Arthur Stannard and Yorkshire-born novelist Henrietta Eliza Vaughan Palmer. Stannard wrote the screenplays for as ...

, and three daughters. She settled in London and continued her literary endeavours. In 1885, ''Booties' Baby: a story of the Scarlet Lancers,'' the tale that assured her popularity, appeared in the ''Graphic''. Two million copies were sold within ten years of its first publication. Tales of a similar character, with military life for their setting, followed in rapid succession until her death. There are 112 entries to her name in the British Museum Catalogue. She found an admirer of her work in leading art critic

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 ...

and in 1888 visited at his home in Sandgate. Ruskin wrote of 'John Strange Winter' as "the author to whom we owe the most finished and faithful rendering ever yet given of the character of the British soldier". For some time Ruskin and John Strange Winter constantly corresponded. Private Tinker promo poster

In 1891, she started a penny weekly magazine, ''Golden Gates''; in 1892 the title was altered to ''Winter's Weekly,'' and in its first issues it launched the career of Nora Vynne. The magazine continued until 1895, but in 1896, the health of her husband and of her youngest daughter made residence at the seaside imperative, and

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

became her home until 1901, when she returned to London, retaining a house at Dieppe for summer residence until 1909. She wrote enthusiastic articles about Dieppe which greatly increased its popularity. The municipality presented her with a diamond ring in recognition of her services to the town. Well known in journalistic circles, she was first president of the Writers' Club (1892), and was president of the Society of Women Journalists (1901–03). Mrs. Stannard died, from complications following an accident, on 13 December 1911 at York House, Hurlingham,

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

. She was cremated and the ashes interred at

Woking Crematorium Woking Crematorium is a crematorium in Woking, a large town in the west of Surrey, England. Established in 1878, it was the first custom-built crematorium in the United Kingdom and is closely linked to the history of cremation in the UK. Locat ...

. Notwithstanding her many activities, she left only £547. She was the subject of a biography, ''John Strange Winter: a volume of personal record'' (1916) by Oliver Bainbridge, with a foreword by General Sir Alfred Turner.

References

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, John Strange 1856 births 1911 deaths English women novelists 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English women writers Pseudonymous women writers 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists Writers from York 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Victorian novelists Victorian women writers English women short story writers English women journalists English magazine editors 19th-century English short story writers Victorian short story writers