Lily Adams Beck, née Elizabeth Louisa Moresby (1862 in Queenstown, Cork,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

– 3 January 1931 in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

) was a British writer of short stories, novels, biographies and esoteric books, under the names of L. Adams Beck, E. Barrington and Louis Moresby, and sometimes other variations: Lily Adams Beck, Elizabeth Louisa Beck, Eliza Louisa Moresby Beck and Lily Moresby Adams.History For Sale
brief but seemingly good biography of Lily Adams Beck.

Biography

Elizabeth Louisa "Lily" Moresby was born in 1862 in Queenstown, Cork,

, UK. (While there is a degree of uncertainty about her birth and early life, some sources suggest that Moresby was born in

Queenstown, Ireland Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home ...

, then part of the United Kingdom.) She was the second child of an Irish mother, Jane Willis (Scott), and an English father,

John Moresby Rear Admiral John Moresby (15 March 1830 – 12 July 1922) was a British naval officer who explored the coast of New Guinea and was the first European to discover the site of Port Moresby. Life and career Moresby was born in Allerford, Somerset ...

. Her father, a Royal Navy captain, explored the coast of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and was the first European to visit the site of

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. She was also the granddaughter of

Fairfax Moresby Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby GCB (29 November 1786 – 21 January 1877) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the unsuccessful expedition to capture Ferrol in Spain during the French Revolutionary Wars. He ...

, who culminated a long naval career as

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

.Clara Thomas, ''Canadian Novelists 1920-1945'', Longmans, Green and Company, Toronto, 1946 p. 10-11 She had an elder brother, Walter Halliday (9 November 1861 – 24 April 1951), and four younger sisters: Ethel Fortescue (1865 – ?), Georgina (23 July 1867 – ?), Hilda Fairfax (16 December 1868 – 16 August 1893) and Gladys Moresby (5 April 1870 – ?). She first married Edward Western Hodgkinson, a commander in the Royal Navy. They lived and traveled widely in the East, including

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, India, China,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, and Japan. Hodgkinson died around 1910. In 1912, she married her second husband, retired solicitor Ralph Coker Adams Beck. Around 1919, the couple moved to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada, where she joined the Canadian Authors Association. She became the first prolific female fantasy novelist in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She began her writing career with short stories in periodicals such as ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', ''Asia'', and the ''Japanese Gassho''. Her first collection of short fiction was published in 1922.BC BookWorld
a site dedicated to provide information about authors and books pertaining to British Columbia. She was 60 years old by the time she started publishing her novels, which commonly had an Asian setting. John Grant and

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

, ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a compani ...

'', "Beck, L(ily) Adams", pp. 99-100, Her stories collected in ''The Openers of the Gate'' (1930) feature an

occult detective Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of detective fiction that combines the tropes of the main genre with those of supernatural, fantasy and/or horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective who investigates murder and other common crimes ...

inspired by the "John Silence" stories of

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cr ...

. According to the historian Charles Lillard, she was also a distinguished writer of esoteric works such as ''The Splendor of Asia'' (1926) and ''The Story of Oriental Philosophy'' (1928). She has been noted as a major writer of

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

. Under the pseudonym E. Barrington, she also published novelized biographies of British historical figures. The 1929 film ''

The Divine Lady ''The Divine Lady'' is a 1928 American pre-Code synchronized sound historical drama film. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. It ...

'' was based on her 1924 biographical novel about

Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, beco ...

. ''Glorious Apollo'' (1925), a fictionalized biography of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, was a bestseller during the 1920s. ''The Thunderer'' is a historical novel revolving around the relationship between

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and

Joséphine Josephine may refer to: People *Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Josephine County, Oregon, a county located in the U. ...

.Daniel D. McGarry, Sarah Harriman White, ''Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels''. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (p.256) She continued to write and travel until her death on 3 January 1931 in

, Japan. She was 68.

Works

L. Adams Beck

* ''The Ninth Vibration and Other Stories'' (1922) **Contents: The Ninth Vibration; The Interpreter: A Romance of the East; The Incomparable Lady; The Hatred of the Queen; Fire of Beauty; The Building of the Taj Mahal, How Great is the Glory of Kwannon!; The Round-Faced Beauty. * ''The Key of Dreams: A Romance of the Orient'' (1922) * ''The Perfume of the Rainbow and Other Stories'' (1923) **Contents: The Perfume of the Rainbow.; The Man and the Lesser Gods; Juana; The Courtesan of Vaisali; The Emperator and the Silk Goddess; The Loveliest Lady of China; The Ghost Plays of Japan; The Marvels of Xanadu; From the Ape to the Buddha; The Sorrow of the Queen; The Perfect One, The Way of Attainment; The Day Book of a Court Lady of Old Japan; The Courtesan Princess; The Happy Solitudes; The Desolate City. * ''The Treasure of Ho: A Romance of Revelation'' (1924) * ''The Way of the Stars: A Romance of Reincarnation'' (1925) * ''Rubies: An Adventure in Burma'' (1925) * ''Dreams and Delights: Fantasy Stories'' (1926) * ''The Splendour of Asia: The Story and Teaching of the Buddha'' (1926) (also titled: The Life of the Buddha) * ''The House of Fulfilment: The Spiritual Romance of a Soul in the Himalayas'' (1927) * ''The Story of Oriental Philosophy'' (1928) * ''The Way of Power: Studies in the Occult'' (1928) (also titled: Siddhis, Miracles, & Occult Power) * ''The Garden of Vision: A Story of Growth'' (1929) * ''The Openers of The Gate and Other Stories of the Occult'' (1930) **Contents: The Openers of the Gate; Lord Killary; How Felicity Came Home; Waste Manor; The Mystery of Iniquity; Many Waters Cannot Quench Love; The Horoscope; The Thug; Hell; The Man Who Saw. * ''The Joyous Story of Astrid'' (1931) * ''Dream Tea: Fantasy Stories'' (1934) * ''A Beginner's Book of Yoga: A Compilation From Her Writings'' (1937) (edited by D. M. Bramble)

E. Barrington

* ''The Ladies: A Shining Constellation of Wit and Beauty'' (1922) **Contents: The Diurnal of Mrs. Elizabeth Pepys; The Mystery of Stella; My Lady Mary; The Golden Vanity; The Walpole Beauty; A Bluestocking at Court; The Darcys of Rosing. * ''The Chaste Diana: The Romance Of The First Polly Peachum'' (1923) * ''The Gallants: Following According to Their Wont the Ladies!'' (1924) **Contents: The King and the Lady; Her Majesty's Godson; The Prince's Pawns; The Pious Coquette; The Two and Nelson; The King and the Lady; The Wooing of Sir Peter Teazle. * ''The Divine Lady: A Romance of Nelson and Emma Hamilton'' (1924) * ''Glorious Apollo: A Novel of Lord Byron'' (1925) * ''The Exquisite Perdita: A Novel of Mary Darby Robinson'' (1926) * ''The Thunderer: A Romance of Napoleon and Joséphine'' (1927) * ''The Empress of Hearts: A Romance of Marie Antoinette'' (1928) * ''The Laughing Queen: A Romance of Cleopatra'' (1929) * ''The Duel of the Queens: A Romance of Mary, Queen of Scotland'' (1930) * ''The Irish Beauties: A Romance of the Luck of the Gunnings'' (1931) * ''Anne Boleyn'' (1932) * ''The Great Romantic: Being an Interpretation of Mr. Samuel Pepys and Elizabeth, His Wife'' (1933) * ''The Graces'' (1934) * ''The Wooing of the Queens: Philippa, Adelais, Matilda, Elizabeth, Isabella, and Anne of Cleves'' (1934) * ''The Crowned Lovers: The True Romance of Charles the First and His Queen'' (1935)

Louis Moresby

* ''The Glory of Egypt'' (1926) * ''Captain Java'' (1928) Source:

Biography

Works

L. Adams Beck

E. Barrington

Louis Moresby

References

External links