Emma Jane Guyton or Worboise (née Worboys; 1825–1887) was an English novelist, biographer and editor. Her more than 50 novels feature strong Christian values and were popular in their time.

Life

Guyton was born Emma Jane Worboys in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

on 20 April 1825 to George Baddeley Worboys (c. 1803–1867), a

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

, and his wife, Maria Lane (c. 1807–post 1887). Emma was a lifelong Congregationalist. She attended boarding school and may have worked as a governess. Though Guyton described herself late in life as the widow of a Mr Etherington Guyton, a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister of French descent, no evidence for the existence of such a person has been found. She began to suffer from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, which brought about her death on 25 August 1887 at Clevedon,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Writings

Guyton's first book, published under the name Worboise, was the novel ''Alice Cunningham'' (1846). It was followed by about fifty other novels with a Christian message, which were very popular in their time. ''Thornycroft Hall'' (1864), ''Crystabel'' (1873) and ''A Woman's Patience'' (1879) are among titles to have been reissued in print-on-demand editions. The theology that underlies Guyton's novels has attracted some critical attention. According to another recent scholar, "Worboise uses her novels to enter debates about the relation of religion to gender and to public life. Worboise's ideal is a wholehearted application of Christian values to all areas of life.... This holistic commitment to a religion of the heart, but also of action, in all areas of life underpins Worboise's challenge to the cultural division of sacred from secular, private from public, and feminine from masculine." Guyton greatly admired Dr

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

, the educational reformer and headmaster of

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, whose life she published in 1859. She began to write for the newspaper ''Christian World'' in 1857. She edited the monthly ''Christian World Magazine and Family Visitor'' from 1866 to 1885, and many of her own novels were serialized there.

Partial bibliography

Information from the British Library Main Catalogue and from a booksellers' catalogue.Jarndyce (London): ''Women Writers R–Z''. Summer 2012.

References

External links

*An account of ''Crystabel'' with a sample chapter
Retrieved 17 July 2013.
*Online edition of ''Thornycroft Hall''

*Online edition of ''Helen Bury...''
Retrieved 17 July 2013.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guyton, Emma Jane 1825 births 1887 deaths English women novelists 19th-century British novelists 19th-century English writers 19th-century English women writers 19th-century British writers Pseudonymous women writers People from Clevedon Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands 19th-century pseudonymous writers