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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Lily Marchesa Theodoli

Author: Lily Marchesa Theodoli (1850–1908)

Alternate Name(s): Conrad (maiden name)

Biography: Lily Theodoli was born in 1850 in New Orleans, the daughter of William K. Conrad. After her father's death, she and her mother moved to Rome where she enrolled at a local college. She quickly became a noted beauty in Italian society. She caught the eye of the marquis Alfonso Theodoli (1845–1910) and they married in 1874. She was friends with fellow American F. Marion Crawford (he allegedly loved her greatly). It was possibly his influence that led her to write her two novels both subtitled "scenes from Roman life": Under Pressure (1892) dedicated to Crawford and Candiduccia (1894). She died in 1908 in Rome.

Author Tags:

References: John Charles Moran, An F. Marion Crawford Companion (1981)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Under Pressure: Scenes from Roman Life.  2 vol.  London: Macmillan, 1892.
  2. Candiduccia: Scenes from Roman Life.  2 vol.  London: Kegan Paul, 1894.