Matilda Betham-Edwards (4 March 1836, in

Westerfield Westerfield is a village in Suffolk, England. It lies about two miles north of the centre of Ipswich in the East Suffolk District, and is served by Westerfield railway station on the Ipswich–Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Amenities Westerfiel ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

– 4 January 1919, in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

) was an English novelist, travel writer and

Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...

, and a prolific poet, who corresponded with several well-known English male poets of the day. In addition, she wrote a number of children's books.

Biography

Betham-Edwards was the fourth daughter of a farmer, Edward Edwards (c. 1808–1864) and his wife Barbara (1806–1848), daughter of William Betham (1749–1839), an antiquary and cleric. She was educated in Ipswich and as a governess-pupil at a school in London.Joan Thirsk, "Edwards, Matilda Barbara Betham (1836–1919)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
retrieved 4 April 2015
/ref> Her first novel, ''The White House by the Sea'' (1857), was an immediate success, reprinted several times, pirated in the United States, and in print for forty years.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 90. Matilda studied French and German abroad and then settled with her sister in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

to manage the farm which had belonged to her father. Not content, however, with purely rural occupations, she contributed from time to time to ''

Household Words ''Household Words'' was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s. It took its name from the line in Shakespeare's '' Henry V'': "Familiar in his mouth as household words." History During the planning stages, titles orig ...

'', having the advantage at this time of the friendship of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

and an early association with

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

Mary Lamb Mary Anne Lamb (3 December 1764 – 20 May 1847) was an English writer. She is best known for the collaboration with her brother Charles Lamb, Charles on the collection ''Tales from Shakespeare'' (1807). Mary suffered from mental illness, and i ...

, friends of her mother. On her sister's death, she moved to London and wrote a number of novels of French life based on her frequent visits to France and her intimate knowledge of provincial French homes, as well as children's books, and non-fiction books about France. She was published by George and Richard Bentley.Women in the Literary Marketplace http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/womenLit/getting_into_print/Betham_Edwards_L.htm She stayed in Algeria with the feminist educationalist

Barbara Bodichon Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (born Barbara Leigh Smith; 8 April 1827 – 11 June 1891) was an English educationalist and artist, a philanthropist and her greatest skill was as a facilitator. She was a leading mid-19th-century feminist and women ...

and visited France and Spain with her. Of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

descent, she considered France her second native land and made it her mission to bring about better understanding and sympathy between the two countries which shared her allegiance. In this way, she did much to promote a better understanding between English and French people. The French government made her an Officier de l'Instruction Publique de France in recognition of her untiring efforts towards the establishment of a genuine and lasting ''entente cordiale''. She was awarded a medal at the

Franco-British Exhibition (1908) The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London between 14 May and 31 October 1908. It was the first in the series of the White City Exhibitions. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale ...

. Betham-Edwards is often cited in anthologies of lesbian poetry. She died in

, Sussex in 1919. Professor Joan Rees has written the only biography of Matilda Betham-Edwards, in 2006 (see below).

Works

References

External links

* *
Biography of Matilda Betham Edwards by Professor Joan Rees
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Betham-Edwards, Matilda 1836 births 1919 deaths English women poets English women travel writers English people of French descent English women novelists English travel writers English women short story writers Victorian novelists Victorian women writers Writers from Ipswich Victorian poets English children's writers 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English poets 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century English women writers Victorian short story writers 19th-century English biographers English women biographers English lesbian writers Writers from London Writers from Hastings

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links