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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Elizabeth Holmes

Author: Elizabeth Holmes (1804–1843)

Alternate Name(s): A Country Parson's Daughter (pseudonym); Emra (maiden name)

Biography: Elizabeth Holmes was born on 20 November 1804 in Bristol, the daughter of vicar the Rev. John Emra and his wife Elizabeth (née Blake). As a young woman, she contributed poems and pieces to annuals, magazines, and newspapers including the Bristol Mirror. In 1833, she married artist Marcus Holmes and the couple had eight children. One son, Emra Holmes, became a writer and poet himself. Under the pseudonym "A Country Parson's Daughter," she wrote three works of prose: two series of Scenes in our Parish (1830, 1832) and Realities of Life (1838). In addition, her obituaries tout her poem "Lawrence the Martyr." She died relatively young on 10 October 1843 in Westbury-on-Trym.

References: British Census (1841); Eclectic Magazine (February 1844); Gentleman's Magazine (December 1843); pers inf (Rob Acton-Campbell)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Realities of Life.  1 vol.  London: Hamilton, 1838.