Margaret Holford (1778–1852) (also published as Margaret Hodson) was an English poet and translator. Her most successful work was a historical verse romance, ''Wallace, or, The Fight of Falkirk'' (1809).

Life

Her mother, also Margaret Holford (1757–1834) was likewise an author, and their works have sometimes been confused in bibliographies. Her father, Allen Holford, died when Margaret Holford the younger was a child. She was the eldest of her parents' four daughters and educated herself through reading at home. Years later, she travelled to France and claimed that she was able to communicate with any of the locals whom she spoke there. Holford was baptised on 1 June 1778 in Chester and on 16 October 1826 married Septimus Hodson (1768–1833), chaplain

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...

to the Prince of Wales, who was then Anglican rector of

Thrapston Thrapston is a market town in North Northamptonshire, England. It was the headquarters of the former East Northamptonshire district, and at the time of the 2011 census, had a population of 6,239. The town's name means 'Farmstead or town of a ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. She was his third wife. The marriage took place in South Kirkby, Yorkshire and they lived in Sharow Lodge, Ripon. Her later work was published under her married name, Margaret Hodson. Her husband died in 1833. After her husband's death, she stayed with a Mrs. Lawrence, a woman who owned the estate of Studley Park in Ripon. By 1835 Holford had bought a cottage in Plantation Terrace, Dawlish on the Devon Coast and remained there until she died at home on 11 September 1852.

Career

The first published work of Margaret Holford the younger is thought to have been the two-volume ''Calaf, a Persian Tale'', written when she was 17 and published anonymously about 1798. Her most successful was a historical verse romance entitled ''Wallace, or, The Fight of Falkirk''. Also published anonymously, it appeared in 1809, a year after

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's '' Marmion'', which it is said to have "blatantly imitated". Around the same time she wrote ''Lines Occasioned by Reading the Poetical Works of Walter Scott'' and sent it to him, but he did not acknowledge receipt of it, despite intervention by their mutual friend, Joanna Baillie. The publication of Holford's novel ''First Impressions'' in 1800 compelled Jane Austen to change the title of her own novel to '' Pride and Prejudice''. Her later romantic poems included ''Poems'' (1811), ''Margaret of Anjou'' (1816) and ''The Past'' (1819) were not a critical success. She also wrote a three-volume novel, ''Warbeck of Wolfstein'' (published 1820), other poems, and a play that was never published or performed. She published a translation ''Italian Stories'' in 1823. Following her marriage in 1826 she only published a translation from Spanish entitled ''The Lives of Vasco Nunez de Balboa and Francisco Pizarro'' (1832), dedicated to Robert Southey. She had a wide circle of literary acquaintances and correspondents that included correspondence with Walter Scott in 1825,

Samuel Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake P ...

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

William Sotheby William Sotheby FRS (9 November 175730 December 1833) was an English poet and translator. He was born into a wealthy London family, the son of Col. William and Elizabeth (née Sloan) Sotheby, and was educated at Harrow School and the Military A ...

, and

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

, who in 1845 encouraged her to reissue her successful novel ''Wallace''.

Joanna Baillie Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philoso ...

was a close associate.

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

stayed for a week with the Hodsons in 1829.

References

External links

17 poems by Holford
on ''All Poetry'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Holford, Margaret 1778 births 1852 deaths English women poets English translators People from Chester People from Dawlish English women non-fiction writers