Catherine Dorothea Burdett (1784 – 14 May 1861) was an Irish novelist who drew mainly on personal experience.

Life and career

She was born Catherine Dorothea Browne in Dublin, 1784, to Frances Corry, who was sister to the MP

Isaac Corry Isaac Corry FRS, PC (I), PCThorne, ''The House of Commons 1790–1820, Vol. 1'', Secker & Warburg London, p. 504 (15 May 1753 – 15 May 1813) was an Irish and British Member of Parliament and lawyer. Early career Born in Newry, he was the so ...

, and her husband Col. William Browne of Glengarry, who served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Her father worked in Ireland as an Army recruitment agent and when he died in 1813, Burdett ended in a legal case brought by the government against her father's estate looking for an account of his finances. The case continued on for over 10 years. She married widower Capt. George Burdett, R. N., of Longtown House,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

in 1806. He had served in the British navy during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. They had a son George and two daughters, Frances Elizabeth and Catherine Jane. Burdett published her first novel in 1827 and continued writing books which were largely based on her own experiences. Her books were published as written by Mrs C. D. Burdett. Her husband was killed unexpectedly when a chemist's assistant mistakenly mislabelled oil of tar as his prescription in 1832. She herself died while visiting

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, in 1861.

Bibliography

* * * * *''A Year and a Day''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burdett, Catherine Dorothea 1784 births 1861 deaths 19th-century Irish novelists 18th-century Irish novelists Irish women novelists Writers from Dublin (city) 19th-century Irish women writers 18th-century Irish women writers