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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Emilie Searchfield

Author: Emilie Searchfield (1844–1911)

Biography: Emilie Searchfield was born in 1844 in Knook, Wiltshire, the daughter of carpenter Thomas Searchfield and his wife Harriet (a school mistress). She would reside in Wiltshire her entire life, assisting her mother at school before turning to writing. In an interview, she confessed she wrote her first poem at age six and her first story shortly soon after. She won a story competition for a local newspaper which caught the eye of several London publishers. Thereafter she began her prolific career as a novelist and contributor to the leading periodicals. Shortly after the turn of the century, she suffered a serious illness which greatly impaired her ability to write and her friends and publishers worked to secure her a civil list pension (seemingly unsuccessfully). Her application to the Royal Literary Fund was rejected, her authorship deemed "insufficient." She died in 1911 in Salisbury.

Author Tags:

References: British Census (1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901); RLF (case number 2691); Warminster and Westbury Journal (13 August 1904)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Christmas Echoes for Christmas Hearths.  1 vol.  London: Whittaker, 1876.
  2. Cloister Laach: A Legend of the Rhine. And Other Sketches.  1 vol.  London: F. E. Longley, 1877.
  3. My Neighbours' Windows.  1 vol.  London: F. E. Longley, 1882.
  4. Those Watchful Eyes: or, Jemmy and his Friends.  1 vol.  London: T. Woolmer, 1883.
  5. Joe Webster's Mistake.  1 vol.  London: T. Woolmer, 1883.
  6. Poppy's Life Service.  1 vol.  London: T. Woolmer, 1885.
  7. Afterward.  1 vol.  London: T. Woolmer, 1885.
  8. His Heart's Desire.  1 vol.  London: Sunday School Union, 1886.
  9. "Aim at a Sure End".  1 vol.  London: Cassell, 1886.
  10. My Brother Jack.  1 vol.  London: T. Woolmer, 1888.
  11. Claimed at Last.  1 vol.  London: Cassell, 1888.
  12. Deborah's Trials and Triumphs.  1 vol.  London: T. Woolmer, 1889.
  13. Nina's Burnished Gold.  1 vol.  London: Charles H. Kelly, 1891.
  14. Jacob Winterton's Inheritance.  1 vol.  London: Charles H. Kelly, 1892.
  15. Satisfied at Last.  1 vol.  London: Sunday School Union, 1895.
  16. The Secret Cave: or, The Story of Mistress Joan's Ring.  1 vol.  Edinburgh: Nelson and Sons, 1895.
  17. Her Wilful Way.  1 vol.  London: Cassell, 1900.
  18. The Heiress of Wyvern Court.  1 vol.  London: Cassell, 1900.
  19. Ella's Golden Year.  1 vol.  London: Cassell, 1900.