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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Augusta de Grasse Stevens

Author: Augusta de Grasse Stevens (1852–1894)

Biography: Augusta De Grasse Stevens was born in 1852 in New York state, the daughter of Samuel S. Stevens and Mary Frances Smith. Some sources report her father was one-time attorney-general and lieutenant-governor of New York, though no records can be found to support this claim. In any case, he died in 1854. Stevens's mother married again to John F. Butterworth (1806–1873). After the death of her step-father, Stevens and her mother moved to London where another of her daughters, Marie, live with her banker husband Sir Francis Evans, Bt. (1840–1907). While in London, Stevens worked as the correspondent to various New York newspapers and began to write novels beginning with the historical tale Old Boston (1884). Her work, however, was hampered by poor health, including a near-fatal illness in 1887. Her mother died in 1890. Stevens never married and died suddenly in 1894 in Brussels.

Author Tags:

References: Birmingham Daily Post (8 February 1887); Black; British Census (1881); New York Times (12 April 1890); Times (18 October 1894)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Old Boston: A Romance of the War of Independence.  3 vol.  London: Sampson Low, 1884.
  2. Miss Hildreth: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Ward and Downey, 1888.