Jessie Louisa Rickard, also known as Mrs Victor Rickard (1876–1963), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

literary

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. During her lifetime she became a versatile writer who produced over forty novels, some of which found a large reading public.

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

30 Jan 1963, Obituary

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

30 Jan 1963, Obituary She preferred to be known as Mrs Victor Richard to avoid association with a young woman called Jessie Rickard, who was brutally murdered in an incident reported in the media as 'The Cornish Tragedy'.

Early life

She was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

as Jessica Louisa Moore, younger daughter of Canon Courtenay Moore M.A., V.P.R.S.A.I. (1842–1922), then rector of Castletownroch and later of Brigown,

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50 ...

, co. Cork, a noted antiquarian, founder of the ''Cork Historical and Archaeological Society'' and a Protestant Home Ruler, editor of

The Church of Ireland Gazette ''The Church of Ireland Gazette'' is a monthly magazine promoting the Christian faith, covers the activities of the Church of Ireland across all its dioceses in Ireland (North and South). Although associated with the Church of Ireland (Anglican) ...

and author of two novels.Cadogan, Tim & Falvey, Jeremiah: ''A Biographical Dictionary of Cork'', Four Courts Press (2006) She spent her youth in Mitchelstown, and when only 18 (1894) wrote a series of hunting sketches which appeared in the

. They were so popular that she followed with a hunting story, ''The Price of a Friend'', which was accepted as a series by the

. She married Robert Dudley Innes Ackland, by whom she had a daughter, and later divorced him, which caused a rift with her father.

Literary career

Not until 1912 however, when already aged 36, did she publish her first novel, ''Young Mr. Gibbs'', a light and humorous work. Her next book, ''Dregs'', which appeared in 1914, was a psychological study and was the forerunner of many romantic and sometimes sensational tales marked by great vitality. The word powerful can justly be applied to them and all had evocative titles: ''The Dark Stranger'', ''Blindfold'', ''Yesterdays Love'', ''Old Sins Have Long Shadows'', and ''A Reckless Puritan''. She had married Lieut. Colonel Victor Rickard, a professional officer of the 2nd Battalion

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Beng ...

who featured prominently in the painting ''The Last Absolution of the Munsters'' by the war artist Matania, which depicts the second battalion of the Munsters halting at a

wayside shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mo ...

at "Rue du Bois" on the eve of the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

in May 1915, in which Rickard, who led the regiment, was to die with many of his comrades. Now widowed and with a son to support, she reverted to writing as a source of income. She first published ''The Story of the Munsters'' (1915) which provided the subject for this well-known Matania picture commissioned by her, depicting the Chaplain of the Munsters, Father Francis Gleeson, giving the Munsters their last absolution. She also published a series of articles in ''New Ireland'' during 1915 entitled ''The Irish at the Front'', in which ''New Ireland'' claimed several soldiers received medals as a result.

Prolific writer

Beginning with ''Young Mr Gibbs'' (1911) to ''Shandon Hall'' (1950) she wrote over forty novels ranging in genre from light comedy to detective novels which earned her a living as a popular novelist. With a widening reputation, and together with

Dorothy Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

, G. K. Chesterton, Fr.

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a high reputation as a classicist, Knox wa ...

and others she was a founder member of the Detective Writers' Club. Having moved to England for some years, she was received into the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1925 by Rev. Joseph Leonard C.M. who at that time was stationed with the

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at Strawberry Hill, London. Most of her novels were published under the name "Mrs Victor Rickard", but she also achieved a reputation with others, as the author of ''The Pointing Man''.

Later life

Illness and publishing difficulties due to the war brought an end to her industrious output. She came to live at Lower Montenotte in

Cork city Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

in 1948 where she wrote her last novel. She made her charming house a salon to which it was always delightful to be invited. It attracted a wide range of interesting people. Mrs. Rickard was a witty woman and a delightful hostess; kind to the young; invariably hospitable; a vivid personality. She was a close friend of Lady Hazel Lavery (1880–1935) who was the subject of her novel ''A Bird of Strange Plumage'' (1927). A debiliterating stroke in the nineteen-fifties left her paralysed on one side and she taught herself to write with her left hand, with characteristic courage. In her later years, she lived in the Montenotte home of

Denis Gwynn Denis Rolleston Gwynn (1893–1973) was an Irish journalist, writer and professor of modern Irish history. He served in the British Army in World War I. Life Denis Gwynn was born on 6 March 1893, the third son of Stephen Gwynn, the Irish patr ...

whose wife was a daughter of Lady Lavery by her first marriage. She died on 28 January 1963 at the age of 86 and is buried in Rathcooney Cemetery, Greater Cork.Biographical portrait: Jessie Louisa Richard
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Bibliography

Novels

* ''Young Mr Gibbs'' (Eveleigh Nash, 1911) * ''Dregs'' (Rivers, 1914) * ''The Light Above the Cross Roads'' (1916) * ''The Frantic Boast'' (Duckworth, 1917) * ''The Fire of Green Boughs'' (Duckworth, 1918) * ''The House of Courage'' (Duckworth, 1919) * ''Cathy Rossiter'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1919) * ''A Reckless Puritan'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1920) * ''A Fool's Errand'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1921) * ''Blindfold'' (Jonathan Cape, 1922) * ''Without Justification'' (Jonathan Cape, 1923) * ''Old Sins have Long Shadows'' (Constable, 1924) * ''The Young Man in Question'' (1924) * ''A Rebel House''. Serialised, Freeman's Journal, 17 September 1924 to ATE UNKNOWN* ''Upstairs?'' (Constable, 1925) * ''His Wife''. Serialised, St Andrew's Citizen from 30 January 1926 to ATE UNKNOWN* ''Not Sufficient Evidence'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1926). Serialised, May 1925 to February 1926 * ''The Light that Lies'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1927) * ''A Bird of Strange Plumage'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1927) * ''The Passionate City'' (1928) * ''The Perilous Elopement'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1928). Serialised, Dundee Evening Telegraph & Post, 1929 * ''The Guests of Chance'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1928). Serialised, Dundee Courier & Advertiser, 1928 * ''The Scarlet Sin'' Serialised, Dundee Evening Telegraph, 1 May to 11 June 1929 * ''The Empty Villa'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1929) * ''The House on the Sands'' (1930). Serialised, Bucks Examiner (1930) * ''The Dark Stranger'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930). Serialised, Dundee Evening Telegraph & Post, 1928 * ''The Mystery of Vincent Dane'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930). Serialised, Dundee Courier & Advertiser, 1930 * ''Yesterday's Love'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1931). Serialised, Daily Mail, 1930 * ''Young Mrs Henniker'' (Jarrolds, 1931) * ''Spring Hill'' (Jarrolds, 1932) * ''Sorel's Second Husband'' (Jarrolds, 1932) * ''The Young Man in Question'' (Jarrolds, 1933). Serialised, St Andrew's Citizen from 2 August to 1 November 1924 * ''Sensation at Blue Harbour'' (Skeffington, 1934) * ''House Party'' (Jarrolds, 1935) * ''Murder by Night'' (Jarrolds, 1936) * ‘’The Secret Watcher’’. Serialised, Dundee Evening Telegraph & Post, 1936 * ''The Mystery of Tara Heston'' (Jarrolds, 1938) * ''The Guilty Party'' (Jarrolds, 1940) * ''Ascendancy House'' (Jarrolds, 1944) * ''White Satin'' (Jarrolds, 1945) * ''Shandon Hall'' (Jarrolds, 1950) * ‘’The Pointing Man’’(undated)

Short fiction

* ''The Night Attendant''. Western Times, 2 April 1918 * ''The Cardinal's Blessing''. ''

The Sphere ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 30 November 1918 * ''The Tea Party''. BIrmingham Weekly Post, DATE UNKNOWN 1937

Non-fiction books

* ''The Story of the Munsters at Etreux, Festubert and Rois du Bois'' (New Ireland Office, 1915)

Short non-fiction

* ''New Ireland'' series ''The Irish at the Front'', June–November 1915 * ''W.A.N.D.: A Mascot''. ''

'', 20 May 1916 * ''

'' articles
''The Munsters in the Retreat, March 1918''
* ''Prisoners and Captives: I''. The Woman's Leader and the Common Cause, 9 April 1920 * ''Prisoners and Captives: II''. The Woman's Leader and the Common Cause, 16 April 1920 * ''Ireland Revisited''. The Woman's Leader and the Common Cause, 1 October 1920 * ''The Forthcoming Municipal Elections''. The Woman's Leader and the Common Cause, 15 October 1920 * ''Public taste and the Future of the Novel''. Liverpool Echo, 7 November 1925 * ''The Road to Rome: Why I Am a Catholic''. Freeman's Journal, 16 September 1926

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Jessie Louisa 1876 births 1963 deaths Writers from County Cork Irish women novelists Women mystery writers Irish mystery writers Irish non-fiction writers Irish women non-fiction writers Members of the Detection Club