Ellen Wood (author)

Ellen Wood
Portrait of Ellen Wood by Reginald Easton
Born	17 January 1814(1814-01-17) Worcester, England
Died	10 February 1887(1887-02-10) (aged 73) London, UK
Notable work(s)	East Lynne (1861)

Ellen Wood (17 January 1814 – 10 February 1887), was an English novelist, better known as "Mrs. Henry Wood". She is best known for her 1861 novel East Lynne.

Life

Ellen Price was born in Worcester in 1814. In 1836 she married Henry Wood, who worked in the banking and shipping trade in Dauphiné in the South of France, where they lived for 20 years.^[1] On the failure of Wood's business, the family (including four children) returned to England, settling in Norwood^{[disambiguation needed ]} in London, and Ellen Wood turned to writing. This supported the family (Henry Wood died in 1866). She wrote over 30 novels, many of which (especially East Lynne), enjoyed remarkable popularity. Among the best known of her stories are Danesbury House, Oswald Cray, Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles, The Channings, Lord Oakburn's Daughters and The Shadow of Ashlydyat. In 1867, Wood purchased the English magazine Hesba Stretton, Julia Kavanagh, Christina Rossetti, Sarah Doudney and Rosa Nouchette Carey. Wood continued as its editor until her death in 1887, when her son Charles Wood took over.^[3] At her death (caused by bronchitis)^[4] her estate was valued at over £36,000, then a very considerable sum.

Her works were translated into many languages. In a 9 March 1872 letter to his older brother Sergei, Leo Tolstoy noted that he was "reading Mrs. Wood's wonderful novel In the Maze".^[5]

After her death, she was buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. In 1916 a monument to Mrs. Wood was inaugurated in Worcester Cathedral.

Works

Mrs Henry Wood's tomb, Highgate Cemetery

These are the first published UK editions as catalogued by the British Library:

• Danesbury House (1860)
• East Lynne (1861)
• The Elchester College Boys (1861)
• A Life's Secret (1862)
• Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles (1862)
• The Channings (1862)
• The Foggy Night at Offord: A Christmas Gift for the Lancashire Fund (1863)
• The Shadow of Ashlydyat (1863)
• Verner’s Pride (1863)
• Lord Oakburn’s Daughters (1864)
• Oswald Cray (1864)
• Trevlyn Hold; or, Squire Trevlyn’s Heir (1864)
• William Allair; or, Running away to Sea (1864)
• Mildred Arkell: A Novel (1865)
• Elster’s Folly: A Novel (1866)
• St. Martin’s Eve: A Novel (1866)
• Lady Adelaide’s Oath (1867)
• Orville College: A Story (1867)
• The Ghost of the Hollow Field (1867)
• Anne Hereford: A Novel (1868)^[6]
• Castle Wafer; or, The Plain Gold Ring (1868)
• The Red Court Farm: A Novel (1868)
• Roland Yorke: A Novel (1869)
• Bessy Rane: A Novel (1870)
• George Canterbury’s Will (1870)
• Dene Hollow (1871)
• Within the Maze: A Novel (1872)
• The Master of Greylands (1873)
• Johnny Ludlow (1874)
• Bessy Wells (1875)
• Told in the Twilight: Containing “Parkwater” and nine shorter stories (1875)
• Adam Grainger: A Tale (1876)
• Edina (1876)
• Our Children (1876)
• Parkwater: With four other tales (1876)
• Pomeroy Abbey (1878)
• Lady Adelaide (1879)
• Johnny Ludlow, Second Series (1880)
• A Tale of Sin and Other Tales (1881)
• Court Netherleigh: A Novel (1881)
• About Ourselves (1883)
• Johnny Ludlow, Third Series (1885)
• Lady Grace and Other Stories (1887)
• The Story of Charles Strange (1888)
• The Unholy Wish and Other Stories (1890)
• Ashley and Other Stories (1897)

Translations

• Les Filles de Lord Oakburn: Roman traduit de l’anglais par L. Bochet (1876)
• La Gloire des Verner: Roman traduit de l’anglais par L. de L’Estrive (1878)
• Le Serment de Lady Adelaïde: Roman traduit de l’anglais par Léon Bochet (1878)

References

1. ^ "The Literary Encyclopedia". "Mrs Henry Wood". http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4790. Retrieved 22 December 2008. 
2. ^ "The Ellen Wood Website". A Biographical Sketch. http://www.mrshenrywood.co.uk/who.html. Retrieved 22 December 2008. 
3. ^ "An Index to Periodical Literature". The Argosy. http://www.philsp.com/data/data022.html. Retrieved 22 December 2008. ; ODNB entry: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29868 Retrieved 31 May 2011.
4. ^ "The Ellen Wood Website". Obituaries. http://www.mrshenrywood.co.uk/obituaries.html. Retrieved 22 December 2008. 
5. ^ Complete Works of Tolstoy, PSS, 61:276
6. ^ Shropshire-cc.gov.uk

Further reading

• Adeline Sergeant (1897). "Mrs. Henry Wood". In Adeline Sergeant. Women Novelists of Queen Victoria's Reign. London: Hurst & Blackett. pp. 174–192. http://www.mrshenrywood.co.uk/adeline.html. 

External links

• Works by Mrs. Henry Wood at Project Gutenberg
• Mrs. Henry Wood website
• Mrs. Henry Wood at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Persondata
Name	Wood, Ellen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 January 1814
Place of birth	Worcester, England
Date of death	10 February 1887
Place of death	London, UK