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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Clara Woolloton

Author: Clara Woolloton (1823–1897)

Alternate Name(s): Aunt Clara (pseudonym); Clarissa Mayhew (maiden name)

Biography: Clarissa Woolloton was born 6 October 1823 in London, the daughter of lawyer Joshua Dorset Joseph Mayhew and his wife Mary Ann Fenn. Among her eleven siblings are the authors Henry Mayhew, Augustus Mayhew, and Horace Mayhew. In 1841, she married the wealthy hop merchant Charles Wolloton. The couple had a son, but he died age ten. By the 1860s, she and her husband lived in Nutfield, Surrey where she wrote two short novels under the pseudonym "Aunt Clara." In later life, she donated over £1000 towards a new church in her town. Her husband died in 1881 and Woolloton died on 18 March 1897 in Reigate.

Author Tags:

References: British Census (1851, 1881); Probate; Surrey Mirror (3 November 1888)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Rambles at Sunnyside: or, A Week with my Godchildren.  1 vol.  London: James Nisbet, 1862.
  2. Childhood's Joy: or, To be Good is to be Happy.  1 vol.  London: William Wells Gardner, 1869.