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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Elizabeth M. A. F. Saxby

Author: Elizabeth M. A. F. Saxby (1834–1920)

Alternate Name(s): Elizabeth Mary Ann Fea Saxby (legal name)

Biography: Elizabeth Mary Ann Fea Saxby was born on 8 May 1834 in Stepney, the daughter of schoolmaster Stephen M. Saxby and Mary Ann Saxby. By 1842, her family moved to Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight where her father became an instructor for the Royal Navy. When he retired, the Royal Navy made him an honorary commander. Stephen Saxby was a gifted amateur naturalist, an interest he passed on to his children. Elizabeth wrote several fictional and educational works aimed at young adult readers—in fact, her fictional works such as Earth's Many Voices (1863) are mainly vehicles for scientific instruction. She never married and lived with her parents until their deaths. Thereafter she moved to Pailton near Rugby. Her younger brother Henry married novelist Jessie Margaret Edmonston Saxby (1842–1940). In her later years, Saxby suffered from poor health and she successfully applied to the Royal Literary Fund in 1895. She died in 1920 in Pailton.

Author Tags:

References: British Census (1851, 1861, 1881, 1911); RLF (case number 2460)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Earth's Many Voices.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1863.
  2. Earth's Many Voices: Second Series.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1864.
  3. Parables of Life.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1872.
  4. Half a Commandment.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1875.
  5. Sally Tramp: The Story of a Mother's Prayer.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1882.
  6. Grandmother Gwen.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1896.
  7. Isaac Letterman's Daughter.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1899.
  8. The Old Mill House at Alvermede.  1 vol.  London: S. P. C. K., 1901.