Harriette Smythies, (b. 1813 – d. 1883, aged 69), was an English novelist and poet. She was a prolific writer of

sensation novel The sensation novel, also sensation fiction, was a literary genre of fiction that achieved peak popularity in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s.I. Ousby ed., ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (1995) p. 844 Its literary forebears i ...

s, publishing 20 books between 1838 and 1875.

Life

Smythies was born Harriet Maria Gordon in 1813 to an aristocratic military family in

Margate, Kent Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. Her parents were Jane Gordon (née Halliday) and Edward Lesmoir Gordon, a

Sergeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

. Smythie had four siblings, including a brother, Edward, who was Sergeant-at-Arms at the

coronation of Queen Victoria The coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom took place on Thursday, 28 June 1838, just over a year after she succeeded to the throne of the United Kingdom at the age of 18. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey after a public p ...

in 1838. Smythies married Reverend William Yorick Smythies (1816-1910). Smythies works were published primarily by

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...

Thomas Cautley Newby Thomas Cautley Newby (1797/1798 – 1882) was an English publisher and printer based in London. Newby published ''Wuthering Heights'' by Emily Brontë and both Anne Brontë's novels, ''Agnes Grey'' and ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall''. He also ...

, and

Hurst and Blackett Hurst and Blackett was a publisher founded in 1852 by Henry Blackett (26 May 1825 – 7 March 1871), the grandson of a London shipbuilder, and Daniel William Stow Hurst (17 February 1802 – 6 July 1870). Shortly after the formation of their part ...

, sometimes under the name "Mrs. Gordon Smythies." Many of her novels involve themes of love and marriage.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''The Bride of Siena'' (poem, 1835)

Novels

* ''Fitzherbert: or, Lovers and Fortune-Hunters'' (1838) * ''Cousin Geoffrey: The Old Bachelor, A Novel'' (1840) * ''The Marrying Man'' (1841) * ''The Matchmaker: A Novel'' (1842) * ''The Jilt: A Novel'' (1844) * ''Breach of Promise'' (1845) * ''The Life of a Beauty: A Novel'' (1846) * ''A Warning to Wives: or, The Platonic Lover'' (1847) * ''Courtship and Wedlock'' (1850) * ''The Bride Elect'' (1852) * ''Married for Love'' (1857) * ''A Lover's Quarrel: or, The County Ball'' (1858) * ''Hope Evermore: or, Something to Do'' (1860) * ''Alone in the World: A Novel'' (1861) * ''The Daily Governess: or, Self Dependence'' (1861) * ''True to the Last: A Novel'' (1864) * ''A Faithful Woman'' (1865) * ''Idols of Clay: A Novel'' (1867) * ''Acquitted: A Novel'' (1870) * ''Eva's Fortune'' (1875)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smythies, Harriette 1813 births 1883 deaths People from Margate Victorian women writers 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English novelists