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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Mina Elizabeth Burton

Author: Mina Elizabeth Burton (1840–1911)

Biography: Mina Elizabeth Burton was born in 1840 in London. She married the artist William Shakespeare Burton (1825–1916). As a painter, her husband was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as shown in his most famous painting, "The Wounded Cavalier" (1855). His career slowed in the 1870s due to his failing eyesight. Burton produced one novel, Ruling the Planets (1891), which hinges on a clever inheritance plot and impersonation. In their latter years, the couple received a modest pension. Interestingly, Burton and her husband were vegetarians. She died in 1911.

References: British Census (1901); "A Veteran Artist. Mr William Shakespeare Burton," English Illustrated Magazine (June 1906); Times (8 December 1911)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Harold and Lily: or, The Birthdays. A Little Tale for Little Children.  1 vol.  London: Hunt & Co., 1868.
  2. Ruling the Planets.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1891.