At the Circulating Library

Author: Florentia M. F. Lucas Shadwell

Author: Florentia M. F. Lucas Shadwell (1831–1921)

Alternate Name(s): Wynch (maiden name)

Biography: Florentia Margaret Frances Lucas Shadwell was born in 1831 in Pett, the daughter of clergyman Henry Wynch, the rector of Pett. In 1851, she married army officer William Drew Lucas Shadwell and the couple had at least two daughters. As a married woman, she wrote a collection of tracts Kind Words to my Cottage Friends (1861) and an anonymous novel Hamilton Graeme (1864). Her husband died of fever in 1875 in Florence. Thereafter, she lived the next several decades in Fairlight. In her widowhood, she turned to fiction in earnest, mostly temperance fiction. Shadwell died on 11 March 1921 in Fairlight. Note: author identified through advertisements.

References: British Census (1881, 1891, 1901, 1911); Probate; Sussex Advertiser (23 September 1851)

Fiction Titles:

1. Hamilton Graeme: or, The Fourth Generation.  1 vol.  London: William Macintosh, 1864.
2. Neville Hatherley: A Tale of Modern English Life.  1 vol.  London: Partridge, 1879.
3. Elsie's Footprints: "Jesus your Life and your Life for Jesus".  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1882.
4. Only Tell Jesus: or, Naomi's Secret and Other Life Pages..  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1884.
5. Almost a Wreck: or, Love's Quest and Guerdon.  1 vol.  London: Partridge, 1886.
6. The Clevelands of Oaklands: or, Cleansing Fires.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1886.
7. Maggie's Mistake: or, Bright Light in the Clouds.  1 vol.  London: J. F. Shaw, 1886.
8. Avondale Priory: or, She Hath Done What She Could.  1 vol.  London: National Temperance Publication Depôt, 1888.
9. My Brother's Love: or, Out of Darkness into Light.  1 vol.  London: R. T. S., 1888.