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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Lady Pamela Campbell

Author: Lady Pamela Campbell (1795–1869)

Alternate Name(s): Fitzgerald (maiden name)

Biography: Lady Pamela Campbell was born in 1795 in Dublin, the eldest daughter of the Irish revolutionary Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763–98) (one of the leaders of the Irish insurrection of 1798) and his French wife Pamela (1773?–1831). In 1820, she met the widower Major-General Sir Guy Campbell in Scotland and they married in November. Sir Guy had entered the army in 1795, served in the Peninsula campaign (where he was wounded), and fought at Waterloo. That same year, he was created a baronet for his service. The couple had a large family of three sons and seven daughters in addition to the daughter from Sir Guy's first marriage. Her husband died suddenly in 1849 in Ireland, and Lady Pamela a few years later became an author beginning with two children's books. She wrote two novels for adults: Martin Tobin (1864), a love story set in New Zealand; and A Woman's Confession (1867). She died in 1869 in London. One of her obituaries called her a great conversationalist due to her wealth of anecdotes about the leading celebrities of Europe, such as Wellington, Lord Byron, and Thomas Moore, all of whom she had met over the course of her life.

Author Tags:

References: Belfast News-Letter (29 November 1869); Burke; DNB (Edward Fitzgerald, Pamela Fitzgerald); Examiner (3 February 1849); Times (30 January 1849; 26 November 1869)

Fiction Titles:

  1. The Story of an Apple.  1 vol.  London: Routledge, 1853.
  2. The Cabin by the Wayside: A Tale for the Young.  1 vol.  London: Routledge, 1854.
  3. Martin Tobin: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: John Maxwell, 1864.
  4. A Woman's Confession.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1866.