Lydia Mackenzie Falconer Miller
Lydia Mackenzie Falconer Miller | |
|---|---|
 by William Kay | |
| Born | 1812 |
| Died | 11 March, 1876 |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Harriett Myrtle |
| Spouse | Hugh Miller |
Lydia Mackenzie Falconer Miller or Harriet Myrtle (1812 – 11 March, 1876) was a British writer for children.
Life
Lydia Mackenzie Falconer was baptised in 1812. She was the daughter of an unsuccessful merchant and his wife. After her father's trading failure it fell on her mother's family to pay for her education.[1]
In 1831 she moved to Cromarty where her father had retired and met Hugh Miller. Both of them were well read and intelligent; she had lived in Edinburgh's literary society. Her family objected but they were engaged in 1832 and they married on 7 January 1837. Her husband was appointed to manage The Witness in Edinburgh and his wife assisted and wrote contributions to the periodical. Hugh was busy and they brought up four children.[1] Despite this she wrote a large number of moral and entertaining works for children. In addition she wrote a novel titled Passages in the Life of an English Heiress in 1847.[2]
Her husband in fear of insanity committed suicide on 23 December 1856. Their daughter, the poet and novelist Harriet Miller Davidson was said to have been affected by this the rest of her life.[3] Lydia was left to complete the publication of his unfinished works and to assist in the writing of her husband's biography. She was assisted by a civil list pension that was given to her in 1857.[2] She moved to Inverness in 1863 where she continued to write for children.[1]
Miller died in Lairg in 1876.
References
- ^ a b c Marian McKenzie Johnston, ‘Miller , Lydia Mackenzie Falconer (bap. 1812, d. 1876)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 2 Feb 2015
- ^ a b Sutherland, John (2014). The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction. p. contents. ISBN 1317863321.
- ^ W. G. Blaikie, ‘Davidson, Harriet Miller (1839–1883)’, rev. Pam Perkins, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 8 Dec 2014
Further reading
- ^ Johnston, Elizabeth Sutherland in co-operation with ... Marian McKenzie (2002). Lydia : wife of Hugh Miller of Cromarty. East Linton: Tuckwell. ISBN 186232221X.