Sophia Frances Anne Caulfeild (19 January 1824 – 20 November 1911) was a British writer and needleworker. She wrote about religion and needlework, and frequently worked with Blanche Catherine Saward.

Life

Caulfeild was born in

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

in 1824 to Frances Sally Irwin and Edwin-Toby Caulfeild, son of Wade-Toby Caulfeild. Her father was from a minor branch of a noble family. Her great-grandfather was William Caulfeild, 2nd Viscount Charlemont. Her grandfather on her mother's side was the Irish poet,

Eyles Irwin Eyles Irwin (1751–1817) was an Irish poet and writer. He rose in the East India Company's service from a civil servant to superintendent of the company's affairs in China, but failed to gain a place on the board of directors. He is notable ...

. She had a younger sister called Louisa Lavinia and an elder brother named Henry Cope Caulfeild. Caulfield lived in Teignmouth. In 1870 she had a book of poetry published which she dedicated to her brother Henry Cope Caulfeild. In 1882 she and Blanche Saward had their ''Dictionary of Needlework'' published. The work was available in six volumes and the full title was ''The dictionary of needlework : an encyclopaedia of artistic, plain, and fancy needlework dealing fully with the details of all the stitches employed, the method of working, the materials used, the meaning of technical terms, and, where necessary, tracing the origin and history of the various works described''. In 1887 she published ''The Lives of the Apostles, their contemporaries and successors''. Their "bible" has been described as an

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

having 800 woodcut illustrations and over 528 pages. The subjects were presented in alphabetic orders and the work attempted to describe all aspects of needlework. The section on embroidery alone ran to 24 pages. This work was aimed at the fashion for needlework and it competed with Thérèse de Dillmont ''Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework'' published in 1884 and ''Weldon's Practical Needlework'' which was published in monthly parts from 1886. Writers of these vast works were assisted by the copyright law which allowed writers to freely borrow material from periodicals. Caulfeild died in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

in 1911.Sophia Caulfeild
Librarything, retrieved 16 October 2014

Works

*The Dictionary of Needlework (with Blanche C. Saward) *Encyclopedia of Victorian Needlework, Vol. II *Encyclopedia of Victorian Needlework, Vol. I *The Lives of the Apostles, their contemporaries and successors *True philosophy : a reply to certain statements made in "Scientific *The dawn of Christianity in Continental Europe and the planting of the… *Desmond and other poems

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Anne 1824 births 1911 deaths 19th-century English women writers 19th-century British writers English encyclopedists English religious writers Needlework People from Teignmouth Victorian poets Victorian women writers Victorian writers Women encyclopedists British women religious writers