Author: Mary Catherine Best
Author: Mary Catherine Best (1801–1883)
Alternate Name(s): Mrs. Best (familiar name); Cliffe (maiden name)
Biography: Mary Catherine Best was born on 8 October 1801 in Mathon, Hertsfordshire, the daughter of the Rev. Allen Cliffe. In 1827, she married landowner Thomas Best of Odd Oak, Worcestershire. The couple had several children. As her later obituary notes, she was an "earnest and energetic Christian worker." In 1853 after her husband's death, she moved to Leamington Spa where she devoted her life to philanthropic and literary pursuits. She died on 18 January 1883 in Leamington Spa.
Fiction Titles:
- The Casket Rifled: or, Guilt and its Consequences: A Tale Founded on Facts. 1 vol. London: J. F. Shaw, 1851.
- The Home of Poverty Made Rich. 1 vol. London: Wertheim and Macintosh, 1862.