Elizabeth Thomas | |
---|---|
Born | Elizabeth Wolferstan 1771 Hartland, Devon |
Died | 1855 (84 years) Parkham, Devon |
Pen name | Mrs Bridget Bluemantle; Mrs Martha Homely |
Occupation | writer |
Language | English |
Nationality | British |
Period | Romantic era |
Spouse | Thomas Thomas |
Relatives | Mary Wolferstan (mother); Edward Wolferstan (father) |
Literatureportal |
Elizabeth Thomas [née Wolferstan] (1771–1855), novelist and poet, is an ambiguous figure. Details of her early life are missing, and her authorship of some of the works attributed to her has been contested due to the use of pseudonyms.
She was born in Hartland, Devon [1] to Mary (d. 1818) and Edward Wolferstan (d. 1788). In or around 1795 she married the Reverend Thomas Thomas (d. 16 December 1838), [2] vicar of Tidenham, Gloucestershire since 1801. [2] She was widowed before 1847 [3] and died of bronchitis at the age of 84 in Devon.
Thomas began her career writing novels, but shifted to publishing poetry when she gained enough nerve despite the "great and mighty" Romantic poets, as she put it. [3]
Her religious verse received mixed reviews, as did her novel, Purity of Heart, "a virulent, polemical novel addressed to the anonymous author of Glenarvon , the 1816 succès de scandale ," presumed to have been authored by Lady Caroline Lamb. [4] She has been identified as "Mrs Bridget Bluemantle", author of nine Minerva Press novels from 1806 to 1818, [3] though this identification remains problematic. [4] She also used the pseudonym "Mrs Martha Homely." [5] She dedicated The Confessions (1818), a collection of poetry, to her children.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1816.
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1815.
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