Christabel Rose Coleridge (25 May 1843 – 14 November 1921) was an English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and an editor of girls' magazines, sometimes in collaboration with the novelist

Charlotte Mary Yonge Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and show her keen interest in matters of public health and sanitation. ...

. Her views on the role of women in society were conservative.

Early life

A granddaughter of the poet,

Samuel Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake P ...

, Christabel was born at St Mark's College,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, while her father, Derwent, was headmaster there. Her name pays homage to

's poem " Christabel". For a time, Coleridge helped her brother

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

to run a school, but her ambition was to be a writer.

Writings, friendships

She went on to publish more than 15 novels. The first was a children's historical story called ''Lady Betty'' (1869). ''Minstrel Dick'' (1896) is set mainly in the 14th-century

Berkhamstead 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 ...

court of the dying

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, su ...

. Her fiction expressed her concern with morality, and several of her books were published by the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is th ...

. Christabel was a friend of Charlotte Yonge's, distantly related to her through Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, who like Christabel had been one of Yonge's informal society, the Goslings. They collaborated on several writing projects, such as ''The Miz Maze or The Winkworth Puzzle: A Story in Letters, by Nine Authors'' (1883). In the early 1890s, Christabel and her "

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

" edited ''

The Monthly Packet ''The Monthly Packet'' was an English magazine published between 1851 and 1899, founded by members of the Oxford Movement to counter Anglo-Catholic extremism. It was strongly influenced by its first editor, the novelist Charlotte Mary Yonge, with a ...

'', which Yonge had founded 40 years earlier as an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

magazine for middle-class girls, as ''The Monthly Packet of Evening Readings for Younger Members of the English Church''. Coleridge was the sole editor during its last six years, from 1894 to 1899. She also edited a magazine intended for the working-class members of the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

-based

Girls' Friendly Society The Girls' Friendly Society In England And Wales (or just GFS) is a charitable organisation that empowers girls and young women aged 5 to 25, encouraging them to develop their full potential through programs that provide training, confidence b ...

. After Yonge's death she wrote and edited the biographical ''Charlotte Mary Yonge: Her Life and Letters'' (1903). Another friend was

Frances Mary Peard Frances Mary Peard (16 May 1835 – 5 October 1923) was an English author and traveller who wrote over 40 works of fiction for children or adults between 1867 and 1909. Most were domestic novels or short-story volumes, often historical in nature ...

(1835–1923), who wrote more than 40 books published from 1867 to 1909, mostly domestic novels and short-story volumes.

Life's work

Christabel Rose Coleridge had at least 89 works of hers published in a total of at least 286 publications. In 1880, Christabel moved to Torquay when her father retired there. She had conservative ideas about the role of women in society, and a collection of her essays on the subject was published in 1894, ''The Daughters Who Have Not Revolted''. Her last novel, ''Miss Lucy: A Character Study'', was published in 1908."Miss Lucy. A character study..., 1908."
Main catalogue,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Retrieved 8 June 2016. Christabel Rose Coleridge's life ended on 14 November 1921 in Torquay, Devon, at the age of 78.

References

*Sandra Kemp, Charlotte Mitchell, and David Trotter, ''Edwardian Fiction: An Oxford Companion'' (Oxford University Press, 1997) *Cherry Durrant, "Derwent Coleridge", ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (2004)

External links

''Please Tell Me a Tale'' (1885 anthology)
at

Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature The Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature in the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries contains more than 130,000 books and serials published in Great Britain a ...

– contains "Blanche's Maying" by "Miss C. R. Coleridge" * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Christabel Rose English women novelists Anglican writers English children's writers 1843 births 1921 deaths Christabel 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers