Elizabeth Helme (née Horrobin; 8 August 1743 – 1 January 1814) was a prolific English novelist, educational writer, and translator active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Life

Elizabeth Helme was likely born in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England, to a family tentatively identified by the name of Horrobin. Her family moved to

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 ...

, where she met William Helme (c.1747–1822), who became her husband in 1772. They had five children. One of their daughters, Elizabeth Somerville (1774–1840), herself became a novelist. Elizabeth Helme is also known to have worked as a teacher, and her translations included two children's plays by

Joachim Heinrich Campe Joachim Heinrich Campe (29 June 1746 – 22 October 1818) was a German writer, linguist, educator and publisher. He was a major representative of philanthropinism and the German Enlightenment. Life Born to the merchant Burchard Hilmar Campe and ...

: ''Cortez'' (1799) and ''Pizarro'' (1800), and much of her writing was aimed for younger readers.

Writing

Helme published her first, anonymous novel, ''Louisa; or, The Cottage on the Moor'' in 1787, and it remained one of her most successful publications"Helme, Elizabeth." Orlando: Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
Orlando
Her work first appeared under her own name with ''The Farmer of Inglewood Forest'', published by the popular

Minerva Press Minerva Press was a publishing house, noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It was established by William Lane (c. 1745–1814) at No 33 Leadenhall Street, Lon ...

in 1796. Despite both she and her husband working as headmistress and schoolmaster, respectively, at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, and her considerable literary output, the family suffered continual financial difficulties and the Royal Literary Society retain records of various applications for assistance, including one from novelist

Lucy Peacock Lucy Peacock ( 1785–1816) was a British author, editor, translator, bookseller and publisher of children's books during the late eighteenth century. She wrote anonymously, for children and young adults. Possibly she was married or perhaps in ...

to help with Helme's burial in 1814. In 1838, Elizabeth Polack based her play ''St. Clair'' on Helme's novel ''St Clair of the Isles''. She is one of the "lost" women writers listed by

Dale Spender Dale Spender (born 22 September 1943)''The Bibliography of Australian Literature: P–Z'' edited by John Arnold, John Hay (page 409). is an Australian feminist scholar, teacher, writer and consultant. In 1983, Dale Spender was co-founder of an ...

in '' Mothers of the Novel: 100 Good Women Writers Before Jane Austen''.

Works

Novels

*''Louisa; or the Cottage on the Moor'' (London: George Kearsley, 1787) *''Clara and Emmeline: or, the Maternal Benediction'' (London: George Kearsley, 1788) *''Duncan and Peggy; a Scottish Tale'' (London: Joseph Bell, 1794) *''The Farmer of Inglewood Forest'' (London: Minerva Press, 1796) *''Albert, or The Wilds of Strathnavern'' (London: Sampson Low, 1799) *''St Margaret's Cave: or, The Nun's Story. An Ancient Legend'' (London: Earle and Hemet, 1801) *''St Clair of the Isles'' (London: Thomas Norton Longman And Owen Rees, 1803) *''The Pilgrim of the Cross, or Chronicles of Christabelle de Mowbray'' (London: Philip Norbury, 1805) *''Magdalen, or The Penitent of Godstow'' (London: Philip Norbury, 1812) Chawton House has
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*''Modern Times; or, The Age We Live In '' (London: Philip Norbury, 1814) (published posthumously)

Non-fiction works

*''Instructive rambles in London, and the adjacent villages. Designed to amuse the mind, and improve the understanding of youth.'' (London: Elizabeth Newbery, 1798) *''Instructive Rambles Extended'' (London: Sampson Low, 1800) *''The History of Scotland: Related in Familiar Conversations, by a Father to His Children'' (London: Philip Norbury, 1806) *''The History of England, Related in Familiar Conversations, by a Father to His Children'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme / J. Harris; 1806) *''Maternal Instruction or Family Conversations on Moral and Entertaining Subjects'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1807) *''The History of Rome from the Foundation of the City to the Fall of the Eastern Empire''(London: Philip Norbury, 1808) *''The Fruits of Reflection; or, Moral Remembrances on Various Subjects. Designed for the perusal of youth'' (London: Philip Norbury / Lucy Peacock, 1809)

Translations

*''Travels from the Cape of Good-Hope, into the Interior Parts of Africa'' (French original by Francois Le Vaillant) (London: William Lane, 1790) *''St. Alma, a novel'' (French original by Jean Claude Gorjy) (London: William Lane, 1791) *''Cortez: or, The Conquest of Mexico, as related by a father to his children'' (German original by Joachim Heinrich Campe) (London: Sampson Low, 1799) *''Pizarro; or, the conquest of Peru, as related by a father to his children'' (German original by Joachim Heinrich Campe) (London: Sampson Low, 1799) *''Columbus; or, The discovery of America, as related by a father to his children'' (German original by Joachim Heinrich Campe) (London: Sampson Low, 1811)

Notes

External links

Alison E. Martin, Apr 2016, Outward bound: women translators and scientific travel writing, 1780-1800
''Ann Sci'', ''73''(2), 157–169. Retrieved 14 September 2022

Resources

*Blain, Virginia, et al., eds. ''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English''. London, 1990. 509–10. Print. * "Helme, Elizabeth." British Travel Writing
University of Wolverhampton
*"Helme, Elizabeth." Orlando: Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
Orlando
*"Helme, Elizabeth." The Women's Print History Project, 2019, Person ID 197. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
WPHP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helme, Elizabeth 1743 births 1812 deaths 18th-century English women writers 18th-century British writers 18th-century English people 18th-century English writers English women novelists