Author: Elizabeth Taylor
Author: Elizabeth Taylor (1824–1879)
Alternate Name(s): Bruce Edwards (pseudonym)
Biography: Elizabeth Taylor was born on 29 September 1824 in Dalkeith, the daughter of merchant William Taylor and his wife Elizabeth (née Wilkison). She turned her hand to literature from a young age, contributing to Hogg's Instructor and Chambers's Journal. Under the pseudonym "Bruce Edwards," Taylor won a £100 temperance tale competition for her novel Rachel Noble's Experience (1862). Notably, her brother-in-law was one of the judges. She followed this with two three-volume novels both published anonymously and a book about the Braemar highlands under her own name. She remained an active contributor to English and American magazines up to her death on 13 August 1879 in Edinburgh. Several of her obituaries lauded her literary ability, one going so far as calling her "the Miss Austen of Modern Fiction." Her final two books were published posthumously.
Author Tags:
References: British Census (1841, 1851, 1861, 1871); North British Daily Mail; Weekly Scotsman (16 August 1879, 23 August 1879)
Fiction Titles:
- Rachel Noble's Experience. 1 vol. Glasgow: Scottish Temperance League, 1862.
- Blindpits. 3 vol. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1868.
- Quixstar: A Novel. 3 vol. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1873.
- Jack and Mrs. Brown, and Other Stories. 1 vol. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1883.
- Queensford. 1 vol. Glasgow: Scottish Temperance League, 1884.