Katharine Sarah Macquoid (, Thomas; 26 January 1824 - June 1917) was an English novelist and travel writer, who published over 65 works. In addition to writing books, many of Macquoid's stories were published in magazines, the first story appearing in a publication called Welcome Guest, in 1859. Her first novel, A Bad Beginning: a story of a French marriage (1862), was successful. Probably her best story was Patty (1871).

Early life and education Katherine Sarah Thomas was born in Kentish Town, London, England, 26 January 1824. She was the third daughter of Thomas Thomas, a London merchant, and Phoebe Gadsden. She probably inherited her literary bent from her mother, who was a lover of books.

She was educated at home. At the age of 17 or 18, she was taken to France, where she lived for some years, an invaluable experience, as she found afterwards.

Career In 1851, she married Thomas Robert Macquoid, R.I.; he was a water colour painter, and a draughtsman in black and white. It was at her husband's suggestion that she began to write. A contributing factor suggested for her career as a professional writer, it has been suggested, was the need to find school fees for two sons at Marlborough College. She began with verse and stories for children, in The Welcome Guest, a weekly paper edited by John Maxwell, for which her husband acted as illustrator. A collection appeared as Piccalilli: a Mixture (1862).

In 1862, Macquoid's first novel was published, A Bad Beginning: a story of a French marriage. It was successful, and was followed by between 50 and 60 stories. Probably her best story was Patty (1871), which brought appreciative letters from John Morley and Sir Arthur Helps. The heroine was decidedly more naughty than mid-Victorian heroines were wont to be, and the book had deservedly a great vogue, firmly establishing the author's position. Macquoid also made her mark as the writer of travel books, such as Through Normandy, Through Brittany, In the Ardennes, Pictures in Umbria, and In the Volcanic Eifel, which were illustrated by her husband.

Macquoid had her early struggles for recognition, but she was encouraged at different times by George Lillie Craik, George Grove, G. H. Lewes, and Sir Frederic Leighton. Her work was appreciated by parents as her stories were not only interesting, but could be read with avidity by young girls for they were not "silly" or of the "milk-and-water" variety. They were well-written studies of lives and circumstances which young girls recognized as similar to their own.

Personal life The elder son was Percy Macquoid, R.I., designer and decorator. The second son, Gilbert Macquoid, was a solicitor, who edited Jacobite Songs and Ballads, and who assisted his mother in some of her travel books. She enjoyed reading, gardening, and foreign travel. Macquoid died at Tooting Commons, June 1917, aged 93.

Selected works

Piccalilli, 1862 A Bad Beginning, 1862 Chesterford, 1863 Hester Kirton, 1864 By the Sea, 1865 Elinor Dryden, 1867 Charlotte Burney, 1867 Wild as a Hawk (Marjorie), 1868 Forgotten by the World, 1869 Rookstone, 1871 Patty, 1871 Miriam's Marriage, 1872 Pictures across the Channel, 1872 Nicole Vagnon, 1873 - (Published in London by "Temple Bar", and reprinted in Boston by "Littell's Living Age" Too Soon, 1873 Through Normandy, 1874 My Story, 1874 The Evil Eye, 1875 Diane, 1875 Lost Rose, 1876 Through Brittany, 1877 Doris Barugh, 1877 Pictures and Legends from Normandy and Brittany, 1878 (with T. R. Macquoid) The Berkshire Lady, 1879 In the Sweet Spring Time, 1880 Beside the River, 1881 Little Fifine, 1881 In the Ardennes, 1881 A Faithful Lover, 1882 Her Sailor Love, 1888 About Yorkshire, 1883 (with T. R. Macquoid) Under the Snow, 1884 Louisa, 1885 A Strange Company; and The Light on the Seine, 1885 At the Red Glove, 1885 A Little Vagabond, 1886 Joan Wentworth, 1886 Sir James Appleby, 1886 Mere Suzanne, 1886 At the Peacock, 1887 Puff, 1888 Elizabeth Morley, 1889 Roger Ferron, 1889 Pepin, 1889 The Old Courtyard, 1890 Cosette, 1890 The Haunted Fountain, 1890 At an old Chateau, 1891 Driftin Apart, 1891 The Prince's Whim, 1891 Maisie Derrick, 1892 Miss Eyon of Eyoncourt, 1892 Berris, 1893 In an Orchard, 1894 Appledore Farm, 1894 His Last Card, 1895 In the Volcanic Eifel, 1896 (with Gilbert S. Macquoid) The Story of Lois, 1898 A Ward of the King, 1898

References

Attribution

Bibliography

External links

Katherine S. Macquoid at Cambridge Core Orlando Project