Emma Hosken (also Emma Hosken Woodward) (11 August 1845–16 July 1884) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

novelist of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. Her last novel was published posthumously in 1885 by her husband

Bernard Barham Woodward Bernard Barham Woodward (3 August 1853 – 27 October 1930) was a British malacologist and author of a catalogue of the works of Carl Linnaeus. He was a member of staff at the British Museum and then the Natural History Museum. Biography He was ...

. Hosken was born in 1845 in Penryn in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, the daughter of Richard Hosken and Emily (née Nettle). She married her distant cousin the Rev. Thomas Butterfill Hosken, the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Llandefaelog Fach in Wales. The couple had three children; her infant son and husband died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

in 1869 and 1870 respectively following which Hosken and her two daughters returned to Penryn to live with her mother.Hosken on 'At the Circulating Library - A Database of Victorian Fiction 1837-1901
/ref> As a widow Hosken wrote two anonymous novels, ''Married for Money'' (1875) and ''Bitter to Sweet End'' (1877). In 1881 she was a boarder at the Sisters of Mercy in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

.The Bloomsbury Project - University College London
/ref> In 1882 she married

(1854–1930), nine years her junior and the Librarian at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

but she died in July 1884. Woodward posthumously published her last book, ''Men, Women, and Progress'' (1885), a political discussion advocating "certain much-needed reforms" relating to the rights of women. She is buried with her second husband Bernard Barham Woodward and his second wife in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

in Surrey.

Bibliography

* ''Married for Money'', 1 vol., Samuel Tinsley, London (1875) * ''Bitter to Sweet End: A Novel'', 3 vol., Samuel Tinsley, London (1877) * ''Men, Women, and Progress'', Delau & Co, London (1885)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosken, Emma 1845 births 1884 deaths English women novelists Victorian novelists Victorian women writers British feminists Burials at Brookwood Cemetery People from Penryn, Cornwall