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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Catherine Maria Grey

Author: Catherine Maria Grey (1798–1870)

Alternate Name(s): Grindall (maiden name); Mrs. Grey (familiar name); Mrs. Colonel Grey (familiar name)

Biography: Catherine Maria Grey was born in 1798 in Calcutta, the daughter of Benjamin Grindall, an employee of the Bengal Civil Service. Her father died while Grey was young, leaving her a ward in chancery. She married Lieutenant-Colonel John Grey of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) in 1817 and the couple had seven children in the next thirteen years. Her husband died in 1842. Shortly after the birth of her last child, Grey began writing novels, beginning with Alice Seymour: A Tale in 1831. She would go on to publish twenty more novels (most of them three-volumes) over the next thirty-four years as well as "editing" some of the novels of her daughter Anna Maria Grey. Another daughter, Mary Caroline, also wrote a novel. Her best known work and most successful work was The Gambler's Wife (1844). She died in 1870 in Cheltenham. Mrs. Grey, as she was known to her readers, was often confused with her daughter Anna and the unrelated Maria Grey (1782–1857) and Maria Georgina Grey (1816–1906)—in fact, the works of all four women have been erroneously attributed to Elizabeth Caroline Grey (1800–87). See the works by Smith and Spedding who identified the authors correctly (the entry in Sutherland is erroneous).

Author Tags:

References: British Census (1861); Era (25 December 1842); pers inf (Christine Kreeger); New Monthly Magazine (February 1817); Helen R. Smith, New Light on Sweeney Todd, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer and Elizabeth Caroline Grey (Jarndyce, 2002); Patrick Spedding, "The Many Mrs. Greys: Confusion and Lies about Elizabeth Caroline Grey, Catherine Maria Grey, Maria Georgina Grey, and Others," PBSA 104.3 (2010): 299–340; Sutherland

Fiction Titles:

  1. Alice Seymour: A Tale.  1 vol.  London: Hatchard, 1831.
  2. Hyacinthe: or, The Contrast.  1 vol.  London: James Cochrane, 1835.
  3. The Duke: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1839.
  4. The Young Prima Donna: A Romance of the Opera.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1840.
  5. The Little Wife; and The Baronet's Daughters.  3 vol.  London: Saunders and Otley, 1841.
  6. The Belle of the Family: or, The Jointure: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1843.
  7. The Gambler's Wife: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1844.
  8. The Old Dower House: A Tale of Bygone Days.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1844.
  9. The Bosom Friend: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1845.
  10. Sybil Lennard: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1846.
  11. Daughters: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1847.
  12. Aline: An Old Friend's Story.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1848.
  13. The Rectory Guest: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1849.
  14. An Old Country House.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1850.
  15. Mary Seaham: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Henry Colburn, 1852.
  16. The Young Husband.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1854.
  17. Cousin Harry.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1858.
  18. The Little Beauty.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1860.
  19. Passages in the Life of a Fast Young Lady.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1862.
  20. Good Society: or, Contrasts of Character.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1863.
  21. Lion-Hearted: A Novel.  2 vol.  London: Sampson Low, 1864.