Eliza Humphreys

Eliza Margaret Jane Humphreys (14 June 1850 – 1 January 1938) (born Gollan) was an English novelist.

Biography

Eliza Margaret Jane Gollan was born at Gollanfield in Inverness-shire, the daughter of John Gollan, a Scottish businessman. Her father travelled extensively, visiting India and Australia and Eliza received little formal education, however she was able to use her experience of Australia to write a semi-autobiographical novel ‘Sheba’ in 1889, using the pen-name ‘Rita’.

Eliza was married twice: first to the Anglo-German musician Karl Booth, with whom she had three sons; second to Anglo-Irish singer William Humphreys, with whom she had a daughter. The unhappy first marriage provided Eliza with material for 4 novels ‘Saba Macdonald’ (1906) ‘The Grandmothers’ (1927), ‘The Wand’ring Darling’ (1928) and ‘Jean and Jeanette’ (1929). Eliza spent her married life in Cork, Ireland, Bournemouth and Bath, Somerset. In 1910, she was listed as one of the celebrities of Bournemouth, with books published in French, German and Italian; at the time she was undertaking a tour of America.

The dedication in the first edition of 'Saba Macdonald' reads: To "THE EMANACIPATED WOMAN" who owes her present freedom of mind, morals, and pastimes, to such repression and tyranny as formed the discipline of youth in days such as this book commemorates.[1]

Writing as ‘Rita’, Eliza was prolific (she wrote 120 published works) and popular (‘Peg the Rake’ (1894) sold 160,000 copies). Her stories often featured aristocratic characters, and exotic settings. Eliza was a woman earning by her own success, and she helped to found the Writers’ Club for Women. She was critical of ideas being imported from America.

After meeting Madame Blavatsky she became interested in Theosophy and wrote ‘Calvary: A Tragedy of Sects’ (1909) exploring religious themes. This was one of her books that was made into a film. After the First World War Eliza struggled financially, as her husband became an invalid and her style of writing went out of fashion. However Queen Mary liked her books and ordered a complete set.

Eliza’s final book was an autobiography ‘Recollections of a Literary Life’ (1936).

Literature

"Rita" The Forgotten Author. By Paul Jones L.R.P.S. can be purchased from www.amazon.com. and www.amazon.co.uk. It has been meticulously researched, and refers to many sources. 193 pages, with many illustrations, and full bibliographies of Rita's prose, plays, films, and even her music. (The above Wikipedia biography is not by Paul Jones L.R.P.S.) "Rita's" A Man of no Importance is also available from www.blurb.co.uk and www.amazon.com; but DO NOT purchase this novel from Amazon.co.uk, as the company selling it on this site has it listed at a greatly inflated price. A Man of no Importance is set in Salwych, which "Rita" based strongly on Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, after visiting the town for treatment at its brine baths, in 1906.

Novels

References

  1. ↑ Saba Macdonald, by "Rita" 1906.

External links

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