Isabella Frances Romer (1798–1852) was an English novelist, travel writer and biographer from London.

Life

The daughter of an army officer, Major-General John William Augustus Romer, and his wife Marianne, née Cuthbert, she was baptised at

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, now part of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

. She had at least one brother, John, but little is known of her private life. She married Major Hamerton of the 7th Fusiliers in 1818, but separated from him in 1827 and reverted to her maiden name. She died of cancer in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

, London on 27 April 1852.ODNB entry by Catherine A. Jones
Retrieved 8 January 2013. Pay-walled.
/ref>

Works

Romer gained a reputation mainly as a travel writer, based mainly on the volumes ''The Rhone, the Darro, and the Guadalquivir. A Summer Ramble in 1842'' (1843, reprinted in 1847), ''A Pilgrimage to the Temples and Tombs of Egypt, Nubia and Palestine in 1845–6'' (1846), and ''The Bird of Passage, or, Flying Glimpses of Many Lands'' (1849), the last consisting of "a series of short stories set in Eastern Europe & the Middle East." Romer's first book was a fictionalized account of a controversial technique: ''Sturmer: a Tale of

Mesmerism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...

'' (1841). It warned of the danger in the deep influence supposedly exerted on a patient by the mesmeriser. She began in 1840 to contribute sketches and short stories to ''

Bentley's Miscellany ''Bentley's Miscellany'' was an English literary magazine started by Richard Bentley. It was published between 1836 and 1868. Contributors Already a successful publisher of novels, Bentley began the journal in 1836 and invited Charles Dickens ...

'' and other periodicals, including the great rival to ''Bentley's'',

Henry Colburn Henry Colburn (1784 – 16 August 1855) was a British publisher. Life Virtually nothing is known about Henry Colburn's parentage or early life, and there is uncertainty over his year of birth. He was well-educated and fluent in French and h ...

's ''

New Monthly Magazine ''The New Monthly Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine published from 1814 to 1884. It was founded by Henry Colburn and published by him through to 1845. History Colburn and Frederic Shoberl established ''The New Monthly Magazine and Univer ...

''. Her biography of Marie Thérèse Charlotte, Duchess of Angoulême, was completed after her death by John Doran (1807–1878) and published in 1852 as ''Filia Dolorosa''. Romer was described by a near-contemporary, the Irish writer

Richard Robert Madden Richard Robert Madden (22 August 1798 – 5 February 1886) was an Irish doctor, writer, abolitionist and historian of the United Irishmen. Madden took an active role in trying to impose anti-slavery rules in Jamaica on behalf of the British gov ...

, as a "shrewd, lively, mystery-loving, and 'a leetle conceited,' occasional authoress, prone to expatiate rather extensively on themes merely personal, and regarding her own feelings, but always redeeming slight defects of that nature by vivid delineations, and smart, interesting, and entertaining descriptions." The same author said that her descriptions of Palestine were "abounding more in sprightliness than spirituality."Richard Robert Madden..., pp. 329–30.

External resources

* The full text of Romer's 1842 story 'The Necromancer' with some introductory remarks
Retrieved 8 January 2013.
* Some frequently cited passages from Romer's novel ''Sturmer...''
Retrieved 8 January 2013.
* Some letters from Romer to

Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (née Power; 1 September 1789 – 4 June 1849), was an Irish novelist, journalist, and literary hostess.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and ...

: Richard Robert Madden: ''The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington'', Vol. I. (London: T. C. Newby, 1855), p. 329–35
Retrieved 8 January 2013.
* The National Portrait Gallery in London has an 1847 pencil and chalk drawing of Romer by Alfred, Count D'Orsay
Retrieved 1 November 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romer, Isabella Frances 1798 births 1852 deaths 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British writers Writers from Marylebone People from Belgravia Hypnosis British women travel writers English travel writers