Author: Mary Royce
Author: Mary Royce (1846–1892)
Alternate Name(s): Leslie White (pseudonym)
Biography: Mary Royce was born in 1846 in Leicester, the daugher of leather merchant and local politician George Royce and his wife Barbara (née Hogee). She attended a local private school for girls then taught in a church school, expanding the offerings beyond basic literacy. Royce used her family's wealth to finance a pro-temperance organization, later called the Royce Institute, to provide recreation for the underprivileged. She also turned her hand to fiction, writing three novels: the first Maud's Life Work (1873) under the pseudonym "Leslie White" and the second two temperance novels under her own name. In the mid 1870s, Royce moved to London to study medicine at the University of London. After a brief hiatus, she qualified as a medical doctor in 1890 and served as Leicester's first women doctor. Royce also served as a Poor Law Guardian. In the course of her duties, she caught an infection from one of her poor patients and died on 30 October 1892 in Leicester. A remarkable woman by any measure.
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References: British Census (1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891); Leicester Gazette (20 March 2025); Probate
Fiction Titles:
- Maude's Life Work. 2 vol. London: C. J. Skeet, 1873.
- Little Scrigget, the Street Arab. 1 vol. Leicester: T. and J. Spencer, 1875.
- The Prodigal Son: A Modern Story. 1 vol. Leicester: T. and J. Spencer, 1880.