Author: Anna Boulter
Author: Anna Boulter (1844–1918)
Alternate Name(s): Hannah Tench (maiden name); Christine Severne (pseudonym)
Biography: Anna Boulter was born in 1844 in Bilston, the daughter of a foundry owner William Tench. By her own account, she grew up in comfort. In 1865, she married coal and lime merchant Ebenezer Alfred Boulter. Unfortunately, due to a serious accident shortly before their marriage, her husband suffered ill health thoughout their marriage which left him an invalid. Boulter turned to writing to support them, finding almost immediate success with her second story for the Family Herald. She would continue to write serials for them under the pseudonym "Christine Severne" (a combination of her childhood nickname and the river). Surprisingly, little of her fiction was published in book form. Her husband died in 1880. As a widow, Boulter continued writing, but her own health began breaking down. Her doctor recommended moving to Australia and she emigrated in 1884. In Melbourne, she began contributing to the local magazines. She died on 14 November 1918 in St. Kilda.
References: British Census (1851, 1861, 1871, 1881); Table Talk (2 August 1889); Worcestershire Chronicle (18 October 1865)
Fiction Titles:
- Sister Anna: or, Could Aught Atone?. 3 vol. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1876.