Elizabeth Ellis (1874 – 2 August 1913) was a British novelist and travel writer.

Biography

The daughter of a prominent English

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, Ellis was born in the northern town of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, in 1874. She studied English literature at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in the era before women were permitted to take degrees there. In 1899 she published ''An English girl's first impressions of Burmah,'' a humorous account of a recent six-month stay in what is today

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, then part of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Six novels and a collection of short stories followed. Most of these books were

historical romance Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century. Varieties Viking These books feature Vikings during the Da ...

s. Though she married Godfrey Baker in 1908, Ellis continued to publish under her maiden name until her death in childbirth in

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

on 2 August 1913.

Reception

Ellis's work met with generally favorable reviews. Assessing her final novel in 1913, the reviewer for '' The Bookman'' (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) wrote: "Among present-day writers of historical novels I should place Miss Beth Ellis very highly. There is a swing and a cheerfulness in her writing which are particularly attractive; she has an accurate knowledge of her periods; and her characters are very decidedly not the inhuman puppets of the average of historical fiction." Negative reviews tended to deprecate Ellis's choice of genre, rather than her competence within it. As ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote of her fourth novel in 1910: "The book is a good one of its kind. But, of course, some censorious reader will inevitably ask: 'Has not its kind been done to death?'" Today Ellis is remembered chiefly for her book on Burma, described by one authority as "one of the funniest travel books ever written."

Writings

*''An English girl's first impressions of Burmah'' (Wigan, 1899)

ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

*''Barbara Winslow, Rebel'' (

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, 1903;

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 1906) istorical romance*''Madame, will you walk?'' (Edinburgh, 1905;

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 1906) istorical romance (short stories)*''Blind mouths'' (Edinburgh, 1907) ovel about contemporary social problems*''The moon of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

'' (Edinburgh, 1907; New York, 1908, as ''"The fair moon of Bath"'') istorical romance*''The king's spy'' (Edinburgh, 1910; New York, 1910, as ''The girl who won'') istorical romance*''A king of vagabonds'' (Edinburgh, 1911) istorical romance*''The king's blue riband'' (Edinburgh, 1912; New York, 1912) istorical romance*"The Kidnapper," ''

Windsor magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

'' 36 (1912): 505-12 ontemporary romance (short story) The British and Canadian editions appeared under the name Beth Ellis, the American ones under the name Elizabeth Ellis. Selections of Ellis's work have also appeared in the following anthologies: *Bötefür, Markus, comp. ''Bei Amazonen, Haremsdamen und Kopfjägern: Westliche Frauen auf Reisen in Südostasien 1851-1952.'' Gelbe Erde, vol. 7. Gossenberg, 2010. *Greenwood, Nicholas, comp. ''Shades of gold and green: Anecdotes of colonial Burmah, 1886-1948.''

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, 1998. *Maurice, William, comp. ''A pitman's anthology.'' London, 2004. * Robinson, Jane, comp. ''Unsuitable for ladies: An anthology of women travellers.''

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 1994.

Adaptations

*The play ''Mr. Jarvis'' by

Leon M. Lion Leon Marks Lion (12 March 1879 – 28 March 1947) was an English stage and film actor, playwright, theatrical director and producer. He starred in Joseph Jefferson Farjeon's 1925 hit play '' Number 17'' as well as its subsequent 1932 film adaptat ...

and M. Cherry was based on ''Madame, will you walk?'' and produced at

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

in London in 1911. *The silent movie ''

The Dangerous Maid The Dangerous Maid is a 1923 American silent film, silent historical film, historical comedy-drama film produced and distributed by Joseph M. Schenck Productions and directed by Victor Heerman. Based upon the novel ''Barbara Winslow, Rebel'' by B ...

'' (1923), starring

Constance Talmadge Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge. Early life Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor par ...

, was based on ''Barbara Winslow, Rebel.''

Translations

The travel book ''An English Girl's First Impressions of Burmah'' was translated into French under the title ''Premières impressions d'une jeune Anglaise en Birmanie'', complete with notes, a biography of Beth Ellis and a glossary.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Beth 1874 births 1913 deaths English historical novelists English romantic fiction writers English travel writers English women novelists Women romantic fiction writers British women travel writers Writers of historical romances 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers Women historical novelists English women non-fiction writers