Mary Louisa Molesworth, ''née'' Stewart (29 May 1839 – 20 January 1921) was an English writer of

children's stories A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

who wrote for children under the name of Mrs Molesworth. Her first novels, for adult readers, ''Lover and Husband'' (1869) to ''Cicely'' (1874), appeared under the pseudonym of Ennis Graham. Her name occasionally appears in print as M. L. S. Molesworth.

Life

Molesworth was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873), who later became a rich merchant in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland, and much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they

legally separated Legal separation (sometimes judicial separation, separate maintenance, divorce ', or divorce from bed-and-board) is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is gra ...

in 1879. She lived for an early part of her marriage in Tabley Grange, outside Knutsford in Cheshire, rented from George, 2nd Lord de Tabley. Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for children, such as '' Tell Me a Story'' (1875), ''Carrots'' (1876), '' The Cuckoo Clock'' (1877), '' The Tapestry Room'' (1879), and '' A Christmas Child'' (1880). She has been called "the

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

of the nursery," while '' The Carved Lions'' (1895) "is probably her masterpiece." In the judgement of

Roger Lancelyn Green Roger Gilbert Lancelyn Green (2 November 1918 – 8 October 1987) was a British biographer and children's writer. He was an Oxford academic. He had a positive influence on his friend, C.S. Lewis, by encouraging him to publish ''The Lion, the ...

: Typical of the time, her young characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance. She also took an interest in

supernatural fiction Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction that is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist assumptions of the real world. Description In its broadest def ...

. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title ''Four Ghost Stories,'' and in 1896 a similar collection of six stories under the title ''Uncanny Tales.'' In addition to those, her volume ''Studies and Stories'' includes a

ghost story A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

entitled "Old Gervais" and her ''Summer Stories for Boys and Girls'' includes "Not exactly a ghost story." A new edition of ''The Cuckoo Clock'' was published in 1914. She died in 1921 and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

, London.

References in other works

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

mentions, in his 1928

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...

'' Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man'', Molesworth's ''The Palace in the Garden'' and ''Four Winds Farm'' as being 'almost' his favourite books. *

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

mentions ''The Tapestry Room'' and ''Four Winds Farm'' in her novel '' Postern of Fate'', as childhood favourites of her detectives Tommy and Tuppence. * In ''The Whirling Shapes'' by Joan North, ''Two Little Waifs'' by Mrs. Molesworth is mentioned as a book (Great-)Aunt Hilda was given by her father on her eighth birthday.

Works

* ''Jack, Dick and Bob: The Three Jackdaws from Hurstmonceaux'', as by E.G. (1865?) – 1875, * ''Lover and Husband: A Novel'', as by Ennis Graham (1870) * ''Not Without Thorns'', as Graham (1873) * ''Cicely: A Story of Three Years'', as Graham (1874) * ''Tell Me a Story'', as Graham (1875) – collection * ''"Carrots": Just a Little Boy'', as Graham (1876) * ''The Cuckoo Clock'', as Graham, illustrated by

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

(1877) * ''Hathercourt Rectory'', 3 vols (March 1878) – as by 'Mrs. Molesworth ("Ennis Graham")' * ''"Grandmother Dear": A Book for Boys and Girls'', illus. Crane (1878) * ''The Tapestry Room: A Child's Romance'', illus. Crane (1879) * ''A Christmas Child: A Sketch of a Boy-Life'' (1880) * Miss Bouverie: A novel (1880) * The adventures of Herr Baby (1881) * Rosy (1882) * ''Summer Stories for Boys and Girls'' (1882) – 5 tales in a frame story * The Boys and I: A child's story for children (1883) * Two little waifs (1883) * Christmas-tree land (1886) * "Us": an old-fashioned story (1886) * ''Four Winds Farm'' (1887) * Little Miss Peggy: Only a Nursery Story (1887) * The Palace in the Garden (1887) * ''A Christmas Posy'' (1888) * ''Four Ghost Stories'' (1888) – collection of 4 * French life in letters (1889) * The rectory children (1889) * Neighbours (1889, also by Mary Ellen Edwards) * ''The Children of the Castle'' (1890), * ''The Green Casket, and Other Stories'' (1890) * Family troubles (1890) * Imogen : or, Only eighteen (1890s) * Robin Redbreast : a story for girls (1890s) * ''An Enchanted Garden: Fairy Stories'', illus. W. J. Hennessy (1892) – coll. of 7, * ''The Girls and I: A Veracious History'' (1892) * The Man With the Pan-Pipes; and Other Stories (circa 1892) * Leona (circa 1892) * The next-door house (1892) * Mary (1893) * Nurse Heatherdale's Story; and Little Miss Peggy (1893) * ''Studies and Stories'' (1893) – collection, mainly nonfiction * My New Home (1894) * '' The Carved Lions'', illus. L. Leslie Brooke (1895) * Olivia, a story for girls (1895) * ''Uncanny Tales'' (circa 1896) – collection of 6 * Philippa (1896) * Sheila's Mystery (1896) * The Oriel window (1896) * Hoodie (1897) * Meg Langholme; or, The day after to-morrow (1897) * Miss Mouse and Her Boys (1897) * '' The Magic Nuts'', illus. Rosie M. M. Pitman (1898) * The Laurel Walk (1899) * This and that : a tale of two tinies (1899) * ''The Wood-pigeons and Mary'', by Molesworth and H. R. Millar (1901) * Peterkin (1902) * ''Fairies—of Sorts'', illus. Gertrude Demain Hammond (1908) – coll. of 5 * ''Fairies Afield'', illus. Hammond (1911) – coll. of 4. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
Warning. Collection contents as listed in ISFDB publication records may omit non-genre stories. * Edmeé: a tale of the French revolution (1916) * Stories by Mrs. Molesworth (compiled by Sidney Baldwin, 1922) * ''Five Minutes' Stories'' (not dated—1888?) * ''Great-Uncle Hoot-Toot'' (not dated—1889?) * The Thirteen Little Black Pigs, and Other Stories (not dated—1893?) * Blanche: A Story for Girls (not dated—1893?) * The Grim House (1899) * The House That Grew (1900) * Jasper (1906) * The Laurel Walk (1898) * Lettice (1884) * The Little Old Portrait: Later: Edmee, A Tale of the French Revolution (1884) * Mary (1893) * Nurse Heatherdale's Story (1891) * The Old Pincushion; or, Aunt Clotilda's Guests (1889) * Silverthorns (1887) * Sweet Content (1891) * That Girl in Black (1889) * The Third Miss St Quentin (1888) * White Turrets (1895) *The Bolted Door: and other stories (1906) illustrated by Lewis Baumer

Anthologies as contributor

* ''A Christmas Fairy and Other Stories'' (1878) – John Strange Winter, Mrs. Molesworth, and Frances E. CromptonProject Gutenberg Ebook #28306 (HTML format)
11 March 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2019. *''Jack Frost's Little Prisoners: A Collection of Stories for Children from Four to Twelve Years of Age'' (1887) – other contributors Stella Austin, S. Baring-Gould, Caroline Birley, Edward Hugessen Knatchbull-Hugessen Brabourne, Mrs. Massey, Anne Thackeray Ritchie, E. M. Wilmot-Buxton, and Charlotte M. Yonge) *''A Budget of Christmas Tales, by Charles Dickens and Others'' (circa 1895) – other contributors

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 ...

, Margaret Elizabeth Munson Sangster, Mrs. W. H. Corning, Irving Bacheller, Julia Schayer, Hezekiah Butterworth, Cornelia Redmond,

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850October 30, 1919) was an American author and poet. Her works include the collection '' Poems of Passion'' and the poem "Solitude", which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you ...

, C. H. Mead, Herbert W. Collingwood, and

Juliana Horatia Ewing Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, whi ...

)

References

External links

* * * * * * *
"Griselda's Big Adventures"
by

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (' Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for tackling realistic topics such as adoption and divorce. Since her debut novel in 1969, ...

, review of Mrs Molesworth and ''The Cuckoo Clock'' (2002)
"'The Victorian Auntly Narrative Voice and Mrs. Molesworth's Cuckoo Clock"
by Sanjay Sircar (1989)

by Mario Guslandi (2003)
List of works
at

LibraryThing LibraryThing is a social cataloging web application for storing and sharing book catalogs and various types of book metadata. It is used by authors, individuals, libraries, and publishers. Based in Portland, Maine, LibraryThing was developed b ...