Lucie Armstrong, (' Cobbe; 1851 – 2 May 1907) also known as Lucie Heaton Armstrong, was an English-Irish journalist and writer on

etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...

. Armstrong had her first work—''The Ball-Room Guide''—published anonymously in 1880; this was followed by stories for children published in ''Little Folks'' magazine; these were then collected in book form in 1883 under the title ''Doll Stories''. She published in several journals, magazines and newspapers, often anonymously or under

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s, and published nine books, eight of which were on etiquette. She was married once, only briefly. Her husband, John Heaton Armstrong, died of

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...

four and a half months after the wedding.

Biography

Armstrong was born Lucie Cobbe in 1851; her parents were Major Charles Henry Cobbe, of the

60th Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing in ...

, and his wife. Charles was a descendant of the

Cobbe family The Cobbe family is an Irish landed family. The family has a notable history, and has produced several prominent Irish politicians, clergymen, writers, activists and soldiers, such as philosopher, writer and social reformer Frances Power Cobbe ...

, which made Armstrong a second cousin to the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

campaigner

Frances Power Cobbe Frances Power Cobbe (4 December 1822 – 5 April 1904) was an Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, religious thinker, social reformer, anti-vivisection activist and leading women's suffrage campaigner. She founded a number of animal advocacy grou ...

. Her father had recently retired from the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

on health grounds after thirty years' service. He died before Armstrong reached the age of twenty, at which point she was an orphan. A talented musician when she was young, Armstrong studied piano, either at

the Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto C ...

or the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

. She composed two

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s or anthems, including for the hymn "Oh, for the wings of a dove", which were played at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. Over practising on the piano led to an impairment in her hands, and she turned to writing for a career. In 1880 she wrote ''The Ball-Room Guide'', which was published anonymously, and soon afterwards had stories published in Cassell's ''Little Folks'' magazine for children. Some of the stories were reprinted in her second book, ''Doll Stories'', which was published in 1883 under the name Lucie Cobbe. In November 1885 she married John Childe Heaton Armstrong at the

register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...

on The Strand; he was a 34-year-old translator and the elder brother of

William Heaton-Armstrong William Charles Heaton-Armstrong (1 September 1853 – 20 July 1917) was a British Liberal Party politician, merchant and banker. Background He was born in Gmunden, Austria. He was a son of John Heaton-Armstrong. He was educated partly in Austr ...

, later a Member of Parliament for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. John and Lucie lived near the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, but he died of

four and a half months after the wedding. In 1893 Armstrong published ''The Etiquette of Party Giving'', in which she not only provided the etiquette of giving a party, but also outlined several types of parties, including "A Clover Tea", "A Cobweb Party", "A Palette Party" and "An Epithet Party". The book was well received by

Florence Fenwick-Miller Florence Fenwick Miller (sometimes Fenwick-Miller, 5 November 1854 – 24 April 1935) was an English journalist, author and social reformer of the late 19th and early 20th century. She was for four years the editor and proprietor of ''The Woman' ...

, reviewing for ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

'', who called Armstrong an "accomplished authoress" who was experienced in writing on etiquette. Armstrong published six further books on etiquette before her death on 2 May 1907 at the Camberwell House Asylum in South London.

Works

Armstrong is known to have written for, or been published in ''

Lady's Pictorial Lady's Pictorial was an English women's magazine aimed at middle class audience that was particularly well known in the 1890s. It ran from September 1880 to 26 February 1921, when it merged with ''Eve: The Lady's Pictorial''. It began as a monthl ...

'', '' The Globe'', ''Womanhood'', ''The Court Journal'', ''

The Ludgate Monthly ''The Ludgate Monthly'' was a London-based monthly magazine, which published short fiction and articles of general interest. There were 118 issues from May 1891 to February 1901; the magazine then merged with ''The Universal Magazine''. The mag ...

'', ''

The Woman's Signal ''The Woman's Signal'' was a weekly British feminist magazine published by Marshall & Son, London, from 4 January 1894 to 23 March 1899. The magazine was edited by Lady Henry Somerset, Annie Holdsworth and Florence Fenwick-Miller. Although pri ...

'' (and its predecessor, ''Women's Paper Penny''), ''John Bull'', ''

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

'', ''

London Society ''London Society'' was a Victorian era illustrated monthly periodical, subtitled "an illustrated magazine of light and amusing literature for the hours of relaxation". It was published between 1862 and 1898 by W. Clowes and Sons, London, Engl ...

'', ''Chapman's Magazine of Fiction'', ''

The Sketch ''The Sketch'' was a British illustrated weekly journal. It ran for 2,989 issues between 1 February 1893 and 17 June 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News, Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine wit ...

'', ''

Pall Mall Budget The ''Pall Mall Budget'' was a weekly magazine published in London from 1868 until 1920. It was a weekly digest of articles from evening newspaper '' The Pall Mall Gazette'' (1865 to 1923). The ''Pall Mall Budget'' was re-launched in 1893 by ...

'', ''Hearth and Home'' and several provincial journals. She published anonymously and under pseudonyms and several variants of her names, including Lucie Cobbe, Lucie Cobbe-Armstrong, Mrs L. Heaton Armstrong, Mrs Armstrong, Mrs Heaton Armstrong, Lucie Heaton Armstrong, Lucie H Armstrong, Lucy H Armstrong, Lucie Cobbe-Armstrong, Zingara, Comme-il-Faut and Aunt Priscilla. * ''The Ball-Room Guide'' (1880) (Updated in 1900 ) * ''Doll Stories'' (1883; as Lucie Cobbe) * ''The Etiquette of Party Giving, etc'' (1893) * ''Good Form. A Book of Every Day Etiquette'' (1889) * ''Etiquette for Girls'' (1893) * ''The Etiquette of Party Giving with Hints to Hostess and Guest'' (1893) * ''Letters to a Bride, Including Letters to a Débutante'' (1896) * ''Etiquette-up-to-Date'' (1898) * ''Etiquette and Entertaining'' (1903)

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Lucie 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century British journalists 19th-century British women writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English journalists 20th-century British women writers 1851 births 1907 deaths English women journalists Women of the Victorian era Writers from London 19th-century Irish women journalists 19th-century Irish journalists 19th-century British women journalists