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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Mary Bidder

Author: Mary Bidder (1866–1938)

Alternate Name(s): Porter (married name)

Biography: Mary Bidder was born on 14 may 1866 in London, the daughter of George Parker Bidder, Q. C. and his wife Anna (née McClean). Her sister was the artist and social reformer Ina Kitson-Clark. As a young woman, she wrote two novels, neither of which seems to have made a mark. In 1901, she married the architect Horatio Porter who would later be mayor of Holborn. The couple had no children. She died on 14 February 1938 in London leaving a substantial estate.

References: British Census (1901); Probate; Scotsman (4 April 1938)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Westminster Cloisters: The Story of a Life's Ambition.  1 vol.  London: Wells, Gardner, Darton, 1889.
  2. In the Shadow of the Crown.  1 vol.  London: Archibald Constable, 1899.