Small image of a man handing a book to a women across a counter.

At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Ellen Wallace

Author: Ellen Wallace (1816–1894)

Biography: Ellen Wallace was born in 1816 in Surrey, the eldest daughter of surgeon Edward Wallace and Anna Matilda Hovell. In her youth, she was an accomplished figure painter who exhibited for several years at the Suffolk Street Exhibitions. Later, she turned to fiction beginning with The Clandestine Marriage (1840) and followed with six further titles. One title Mr. Warrenne, the Medical Practitioner (1848) centers on the travails of a country doctor, mostly likely based on her father's life. Inexplicably, the Argosy serialized the novel forty-five years after its initial publication. A lifelong resident of Carshalton, Surrey, Wallace never married and lived with her parents or siblings until her death in 1894. NB: The Bentley papers identify this author as "Miss Ellen Wallace," resident of Surrey, still living in 1893, so this is most likely the author.

References: British Census (1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891); Morning Post (29 November 1894)

Fiction Titles:

  1. The Clandestine Marriage, and The Sisters.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1840.
  2. Constance D'Oyley: A Tale.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1844.
  3. Margaret Capel: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1846.
  4. Mr. Warrenne, the Medical Practitioner.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1848.
  5. King's Cope: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1849.
  6. Lena: or, The Silent Woman.  3 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1852.
  7. Beyminstre.  3 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1856.