Mary Catherine Rowsell


Mary Catherine Rowsell was an English novelist, author of children's fiction, and dramatist. Her education in Belgium and Germany resulted in books based on German folk tales, and on French historical personages. Most of her children's books were set around well-know historical events.

Early life

Rowsell was born on 29 December 1839 and baptised in St. Dionis Backchurch on 22 January 1840. Her father were Charles John Rowsell, an accountant who may have patented the Graphoscope
and certainly patented improvements to it. Her mother was Sarah Lewis, and her parents were married on 6 June 1829, in St. Nicholas, Brighton, Sussex, England.
Rowsell was educated at Queen's College, London in Harley Street, and later in Brussels and Bonn. This enabled here to write books based on German folk-tales and on persons in French history.

Work

Rowsell produced four types of works:
Rowsell's first book was published in her mid twenties. This was a collection of forty fairy tales translated from German. No author's name was given in the advertisements, but reviews gave the author as M. C. R. The initial edition of the book was well received, and another edition was issued for the Christmas Gift Book Market. In advertising the Christmas edition, the publisher's quoted the press reviews of the first edition:
Despite this initial success Rowsell had no further work published until Abbots' Crag in July 1872. On this occasion the author was identified as M. C. Rowsell.

List of longer works

The following list is based on searches on the Jisc Library Hub Discover, which collates the catalogues of 162 national, academic, and specialist libraries in the UK and Ireland. The online availability of texts is indicated for the following repositories:
SerialYearTitlePagesPublisherBLIAHTBLNotes
11864The spirit of the giant mountains : a series of fairy tales231 p., 9 pl., 8ºLondon: Murray & Co
21872Abbots' Crag. A tale168 p., 8ºLondon: Whittaker
31874Plays for Home performance: Thornrose and Sparkledor: Riquet with the tuft63 p., 8ºLondon: Samuel French
41876Saint Nicolas' Eve, and other tales256 p., 8ºLondon: Samuel Tinsley
51878Love loyal3 v., 8ºLondon: Hurst & Blackett
61880Jeannette.3 v., 8ºLondon: Hurst & Blackett
71882Hymns and narrative verses for children... Third edition30 p., 16ºLondon: J. T. Hayes
81883Tales of Filial Devotion. Examples of the faithful heroism of girls, drawn from French History198 p., 8ºLondon: Sonnenschein & Co
91884Number Nip; or, the Spirit of the Giant Mountains286 p., 8ºLondon: Sonnenschein & Co
101884Traitor or patriot? : a tale of the Rye-house plotvi, 287, fs., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
111885The pedlar and his dog160 p. : ill., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
121885Miss Vanbrugh : a stage story158, p., 12ºBristol: G. W. Arrowsmith
131886Fisherman Grim96 p., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
141886Sepperl the drummer-boy95 p., fs., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
151886The Silver Dial3 v., 8ºLondon: Swan Sonnenschein
161887Hans the Painter96 p., fs., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
171887Hatto's Tower: and other stories127 p., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
181888The Red House176 p., 8ºLondon: Hamilton, Adams & Co
191889John a' Dale: or, “the King and the Tinker.”128 p., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
201889Whips of Steel
211890The Story of a Queen159 p., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
221890Thorndyke Manor287 p., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son
231891Petronella; and Madame Ponowski107 p., fs., 8ºLondon: Skeffington & Son
241892Richard's play : a comedietta, in one act16 p., 8ºLondon: Samuel French
251894The Friend of the People3 v., 8ºLondon: T. F. Unwin
261896The Green Men of Norwell, and other stories87 p., 8ºLondon: Simpkin & Marshall
271897France: The Children's' Study362 p., fs., 8ºLondon: T. Fisher Unwin
281898The Boys of Fairmead, etc.319 p., 8ºLondon: F. Warne & Co
291899Honour Bright48 p., 8ºLondon: E. Nister
301900Dick of Temple Bar127 p., ill.London: E. Nister
311902The Last LinkLondon: Samuel French
321903My lady's favour, a comedy by M.C. Rowsell and E.G. HowellLondon: Samuel French
331905The life-story of Charlotte de la Trémoille : countess of Derbyviii, 188 p., ill., 8ºLondon: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner
341905The wild swans, or, The adventure of Roland Cleeve128, 32 p., ill., 8ºLondon: S. W. Partridge & Co
351907Monsieur de Paris : a romance306 p.London: Chatto & Windus
361910Ninon de L'Enclos and her centuryix, 310 p., 2 pl., 8ºLondon: Hurst & Blackett
371920The Sea-King's Son and Fisherman Grim. From “Fisherman Grim.”78 p., 8ºLondon: Blackie & Son

Serials and shorter works

Rowsell edited the short lived St. Paul's Magazine in 1889. This should not be confused with Saint Paul's, a monthly magazine edited by Anthony Trollope which ran for 14 volumes from 18671874. Rowsell contributed, with James Macdonald Oxley and John Alexander Hammerton to The Children's Friend: a magazine for boys and girls at home and school in 1902 and 1903.
Several of Rowell's published novels were serialised, but she also published shorter fiction and serial stories including:
Rowsell had fallen on hard time by the end of the 19th century. The small annuity left her by her father, who died in 1882, and her mother, who dies in 1897, shrank due to bad investment choices. As a result, she appealed four times to the Royal Literary Fund. Rowsell died at 81 years of age on 15 June 1921. The cause of death was stated to be epilepsy and senile decay.