At the Circulating Library

Author: Alice O'Hanlon

Author: Alice O'Hanlon (1840–1935)

Alternate Name(s): Midgley (married name)

Biography: Alice O'Hanlon was born in 1840 in Chorley, the daughter of Congregational minister William O'Hanlon and his wife Alice. Her older brother was the Manchester manufacturer and social reformer William O'Hanlon (1838–1912). In middle age, she began writing serials for Manchester-area newspapers and then national periodicals. In this, she found noted success. At least one source reports she converted to Roman Catholicism. O'Hanlon, late in life, married chemist Charles Midgley in 1890. Thereafter she appears to have left off writing. She died on 26 September 1935 in Westcliffe-on-Sea.

References: British Census (1841, 1881, 1901, 1911); Loeber; Manchester City News (31 August 1912); Probate

Fiction Titles:

1. Erleston Glen: A Lancashire Story of the Sixteenth Century.  1 vol.  London: Burns and Oates, 1878.
2. A Costly Heritage.  3 vol.  London: Tinsley Brothers, 1882.
3. West Thorpe.  1 vol.  Glasgow: Scottish Temperance League, 1882.
4. Robert Reid: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Tinsley Brothers, 1883.
5. The Unforeseen.  3 vol.  London: Chatto and Windus, 1885.
6. A Diamond in the Rough.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1886.
7. Chance? or Fate?: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Chatto and Windus, 1889.