At the Circulating Library

Author: Elizabeth Youatt

Author: Elizabeth Youatt (1816–1879)

Alternate Name(s): Mrs. W. H. Coates (married name)

Biography: Elizabeth Youatt was born in 1816 in London, the daughter of William Youatt, an author of medical works and the veterinary surgeon to the Queen. While still living at home, Youatt began writing novels beginning with two triple deckers The Price of Fame (1842) and The Blind Man and his Guide (1844). She completed her friend Ellen Pickering's last novel, The Grandfather (1844). In 1847 her father committed suicide due to "temporary derangement of the mind." A few years later, in 1851, Youatt married the widower William Henry Coates (b. 1820) who worked as the secretary to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. The couple had two children. Over the next twenty years she wrote several short novels for the Religious Tract Society. She died in 1879.

References: British Census (1851, 1861); Probate; Times (15 January 1847, 21 January 1879)

Fiction Titles:

1. The Price of Fame: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. and W. Boone, 1842.
2. The Blind Man and his Guide: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1844.
3. Isabel: or, Influence.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1850.
4. "Our Willie": or, Home Teaching.  1 vol.  Bath: Binns and Goodwin, 1855.
5. Hannah Lee: or, Rest for the Weary.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1859.
6. Abel Grey.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1860.
7. Dora Hamilton: or, Sunshine and Shadow.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1864.
8. How Little Bessie Kept the Wolf from the Door.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1871.
9. Kitty Bright, the Flower Girl.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1874.
10. Reuben's Temptation.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1874.
11. Mabel's Faith.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1875.
12. Waiting for the Ship.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1877.
13. Margaret Browning: or, Trust in God.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1878.
14. While They are With Us.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1879.