At the Circulating Library

Author: F. B. Forester

Author: F. B. Forester (1864–1948)

Alternate Name(s): (pseudonym); Sarah Baird Bennie (legal name)

Biography: Sarah Baird Bennie was born in 1864 in Kidderminster, the daughter of carpet manufacturer John Bennie and Sarah Turnball. As a child, she began writing poetry before turning to fiction. Her first story His Level Best was published through the advice of John Strange Winter under the pseudonym "F. B. Forester." Bennie went on to publisher stories in the Boy's Own Paper and other magazines. Around 1912, she and her sister moved to New Zealand where Bennie continue to contribute articles and stories to local newspapers. She died in Wellington in 1948.

Author Tags:

• New Zealand Authors

References: Auckland Star (27 July 1935); British Census (1881); pers info (John Cosgrave)

Fiction Titles:

1. The Spanish Cousin: A Nineteenth-Century Story.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1896.
2. His Level Best.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1896.
3. A Settler's Story.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1898.
4. Lone Star Blockhouse.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1900.
5. Held to Ransom.  1 vol.  Edinburgh: Nelson and Sons, 1902.