Bessie Marchant (1862–1941) was a prolific English writer of adventure novels featuring young female heroines. She published most of her work under the name Bessie Marchant, but occasionally published as Bessie Marchant Comfort or Mrs J.A. Comfort. And a few books for boys, published under the name John Comfort are attributed to her.
Life Marchant was born at Debden Court Farm, Petham. She was married at age 27 to Jabez Ambrose Comfort, a Baptist minister 28 years her senior. Her daughter Constance was born in 1891 in Hitchin where her husband had a school.
Despite never leaving England herself, she wrote close to 150 novels set in locations around the world. Her earliest novels, such as Broken Barriers and Under Clear Skies were simple romances set in an evangelical Christian context, usually Primitive Methodism, and located in England. Some of her novels were serialized in illustrated magazines such as Sunday Reading for the Young, and some were published in combination books such as The Bessie Marchant Omnibus Book, which contains three novels: The Gold-Marked Charm, Sally Makes Good, and Three Girls in Mexico. She later wrote many novels in the style of the Victorian adventure novel (even being called "the girls' Henty", a reference to G.A. Henty, the author of popular adventure stories for boys), but she challenged established gender roles by putting strong female characters in what was seen as a boys' genre.
The typical Bessie Marchant heroine may be reluctant, unsure of herself, homesick, and frightened, but she puts aside her feelings in an effort to do her duty and do the right thing. An example is a passage from The Adventures of Phyllis, where a young woman finds herself alone, looking after a delirious injured man. Besides, it was selfish to think of her own discomfort or possible danger when his condition was plainly so much worse than her own. All the latent heroism in her nature was rising now to meet the demand upon it. She would not let herself speculate on what her home people would say if they could see her now; she would not even think of what might befall her before she could extricate herself from this strange situation, but content herself with living just for the present hour, and doing her best to meet each need as it should arise.
Early publications of Bessie Marchant novels typically have no dust jacket, but have an illustrative image printed directly on the cover and spine. This is especially true of those published by Blackie and by Collins.
Marchant died in 1941. In 2023 the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography included her in a group of new biographies of eleven Victorian and Edwardian writers who have caught the attention of academics.
Novels Listed here are some of the novels written by Bessie Marchant.based on books offered for sale on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, abebooks.com and/or referenced on goodreads.com. Where these books are available in formats other than print, this is noted in the Available Formats column. The Publication Date is rarely included in the printed copies of Marchant's works; apparently this was common practice in books printed in the early 20th century. Where a publication date is shown, it was discovered through on-line references, such as entries in goodreads.com, so it cannot be guaranteed to be correct. However, because Bessie Marchant books were popular choices for prize-giving or birthday and Christmas presents, an inscription is often found with a date. This date is listed as the 'presentation date', and can be understood to indicate that the book was published prior to that date. Publication Date has been added based on the work of the website www.authorandbookinfo.com. The plot summaries shown below are based on reading the book referenced. TitleAvailable FormatsPublication DatePresentation DateLocationPlot SummaryAdventures of Phyllis, The - A Story of the Argentine19101913ARGENTINAWhen Phyllis's father loses all his money in speculation, the family disperses, and only Phyllis is left with no place to go. She answers an ad for a nursery governess in a remote country town, and when she arrives to take the job, she finds things much different from her expectations. Adventurous Seven, The: Their Hazardous Undertakinggutenberg.org Kindle; Nook1914?, 1918AUSTRALIASeven children travel to Australia to find their father & prove him innocent of malpractice.Among the Hostile Hordes. a story of the Tai-Ping rebellion1890CHINAJohn Armstrong and his son Don become caught up in the Tai-ping rebellion during their stay in China.Among the Torches of the Andes (title as published by W P Nimmo & Co of Edinburgh)See entry for "On the Track; or, Among The Torches Of The Andes"Anna of the Tenterford1935CANADA, British ColumbiaAnna Brown must maintain a remote farm in British Columbia now that her stepfather and his son have died. She lives alone with her difficult mother, until her mother's young nephews, Rollo and Rich come to live with them.Apple Lady, The19081918AUSTRALIA, TasmaniaHetty St John is singlehandedly running an apple business in Tasmania while her brother Dennis is suffering from temporary blindness. While delivering apples for shipment, Hetty sees young Silver Blair being beaten by her uncle. Hetty intervenes, and Silver comes to live with Hetty and Dennis. It takes many years, but finally, the complicated tale of inheritance and mistaken identity is straightened out. Athabasca Bill: A Tale of the Far WestNook1899, 1906?1920CANADA, AlbertaIn Alberta, Canada, young Fred's family awaits the return of their father who is looking for a site for a new home for them. But just as he return, bloodhounds seeking the thief who stole a box containing hundreds of dollars trace the scent to Fred's father. Fred sets out to find Athabasca Bill who may have information that will prove that his father is innocent. Bannister Twins, The19291933CANADA, Prince Edward IslandDorkie (Dorcas) and Dob (Dobson) are twins who live on Prince Edward Island with their mother and fisherman stepfather. Their stepfather and two stepbrothers disappear in a storm and Dorkie and Dob rescue a castaway who has lost her memory.Bertrams Of Ladywell, The1902ENGLAND, LeicestershireThe Bertrams have lost most of their money and are living with the mother's unmarried sister in the small town of Ladywell. The four children, Elizabeth, Sara, Ruth & Powys decide to do good works, but they have many mishaps before they finally manage do something that is really helpful.Bid for Safety, A19241924MEXICOOrphaned Bride travels to Mexico, intending to live with her aunt and uncle. But when she arrives, she discovers that their plantation has been destroyed and they have disappeared.Black Cockatoo, The: A Story of Western Australia.1910AUSTRALIAMrs Paynter is a kindly woman who agrees to look after the baby of a man who may be part of a gang of cattle-duffers who have been stealing local cattle. The six Paynter children plus this baby are left on their own when their mother has to travel to look after their injured father in the town several days ride distant. The family suffers from worries and troubles, but many people help the family because of Mrs. Paynter's goodness.Bonded Three, The18991901INDIATriplets Robert, Rosamund, and Ailsa Craig get caught up in a native uprising in India.Brave Little Cousin, A19021938AUSTRALIA, QueenslandAn orphaned girl from New Zealand returns to her father's home in Queensland where she discovers that her father had been cheated out of the profits from a gold mine.Broken Barriers18891903ENGLAND, KentRuth Maplesden lives in Yorkendam, Kent and helps her father establish a new Methodist church.By Honour Bound: A School Story for GirlsKindle1925ENGLAND ?A girl sees a fellow student in her new school shoplifting, then has problems with her during the school term.Canadian Farm Mystery, A or Pam the Pioneergutenberg.org Kindle; Nook1917CANADAPam goes to Canada to live with her estranged grandfather, but finds that he is missing and suspected of a crime.Captives Of The Kaid, The19041904AFRICALalla and her mother travel on her uncle's yacht along the coast of Africa. They have adventures which lead to the reunion of estranged family members.Caspar's Find, or The Whale Island19051913TRINIDADPampered young Alda is shipwrecked and lands on a remote island near Trinidad where 12 year old Caspar lives with his whale-hunting uncle.Chupsie; the Story of a Baby1904INDIAMopsie and Popsie Stewart live with their mother and father in India. They find a baby in their garden, and have many adventures trying to return it to its parents.Cicely Frome, the Captain's DaughterNook1900192xCEYLONA captain's daughter seeks her missing father in Ceylon.Countess From Canada, A: A Story of a Life in the Backwoodsgutenberg.org Kindle; Nook19111932CANADA, OntarioAfter her father is injured, Katherine Radford must try to run her family's store in the Keewatin District located west of Hudson Bay in rural Canada. Courage of Katrine, The19341948CANADA, OntarioKatrine and Wilfred from Quebec are visiting cousins in Sault Ste. Marie. There they enjoy a relaxed farm life and parties and get involved in foiling some cross-border smuggling.Courageous Girl, A: A Story of Uruguay1909URUGUAYAnne returns home to Uruguay after years at school in England, only to find that father has sold their beautiful home, and has taken a job managing the shepherds on the sheep ranch that used to be theirs.Cousin Peter's Money1926Cuckoo of the Log Raft1931CANADA, British ColumbiaCordelia, nicknamed 'Cuckoo', is a foundling, being raised with the Barnet family in British Columbia. The Barnet's have a pulp & paper mill that is just barely making money and faces stiff competition when a neighboring mill is bought by a go-ahead new owner.Cynthia Wins - A Tale of the Rocky Mountains1918CANADACynthia was orphaned as a young child, and was raised in an institution. When she makes the decision to give up the chance of a good job to help take care of a sick woman who had been kind to her as a child, she embarks on a series of adventures.Dangerous Mission, A; A Tale Of Russia In Revolution19181940RUSSIA, PetrogradTatna is a young school teacher in Petrograd, Russia. She gets caught up in a bread riot and escapes, disguised as another teacher who is bound for a school in the remote countryside, where she discovers that she has a talent for teaching the local people about responsible government.Darling(s) of Sandy Point; A Story of adventure around the Straits of Magellan19071923SOUTH AMERICA, Tierra Del FuegoGeorge & Willy have come to Sandy Point looking for their father, but he has disappeared and is thought to be dead. They are taken in by Elias Dawe who is already looking after Darling, a girl who was found alone on a raft after a shipwreck. Daughter of the Desert, A19371935SUDAN? (an Arabic desert near Ethiopia & Libya), ENGLAND, KentAlestra, a kindly young woman who has grown up as the daughter of the chief in a desert tribe, discovers new information about her background.Daughter of the Ranges, A: A Story of Western Canada;1906, 19251933CANADA, AlbertaCaryl tries to run her family's ranch in Canada after her father is paralyzed after an accident and she hires Helen and Helen's brother to help her.Daughters of the Dominion: A Story of the Canadian Frontiergutenberg.org