Author: Lillias Wassermann
Author: Lillias Wassermann (1846–1932)
Alternate Name(s): Robson (maiden name)
Biography: Lillias Wassermann was born in 1846 in Newcastle, the daughter of Robert and Hannah Robson. In 1872, she married John Conrad Wassermann, a Sunderland coal merchant. Soon afterwards, the couple moved to Cullercoats (Tynemouth) where John turned to painting and Lillias took to writing. The location is notable for a series of paintings done by Winslow Homer who visited in 1881–1882 and Wassermann wrote an article about his paintings. John died in 1882 and the widow eventually moved south. Her first three novels—David Armstrong (1880), A Man of the Day (1881), and The Counter of this World (1884)—were co-authored by Isabella Ann Weddle (b. 1851). Her fourth novel, The Marquis of Carabas (1892), was co-authored by Aaron Watson, the journalist and editor of the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle. Wassermann wrote two further novels, The Daffodils (1891) and The Goddess of the Dandelions (1895). In addition, she was a prolific short story writer and journalist, appearing in numerous popular magazines and newspapers. Wassermann appears to have stopped writing in the new century, producing only a collection of poems in 1929. She died in 1932 in Bath.
Author Tags:
References: British Census (1871, 1881, 1891, 1901); Helen A. Cooper, Winslow Homer Watercolors (National Gallery of Art, 1986); Probate
Fiction Titles:
- David Armstrong: or, Before the Dawn. 2 vol. Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1880.
- A Man of the Day. 3 vol. London: Bentley, 1881.
- The Counter of this World. 3 vol. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1884.
- The Marquis of Carabas: A Story of To-day. 3 vol. London: Chatto and Windus, 1892.
- The Goddess of the Dandelions. 2 vol. London: Ward and Downey, 1895.