Mary Theresa Vidal


Mary Theresa Vidal was a British–Australian writer described as Australia's first female novelist.

Life

Mary was born in Devon, England, the daughter of Britton William Johnson and his wife, Mary Theresa, daughter of P. W. Furse. The poet William Johnson, who took the name of Cory in 1872, was a younger brother. In 1840 she married the Rev. Francis Vidal and came with him to Australia. Her husband had an extensive parish to the south-west of Sydney, at Penrith.
In 1845, Vidal's first book, Tales for the Bush, was published in Sydney, apparently intended as an instructive work for her servants. Soon afterwards she returned with her husband to England. Ten other volumes of tales and novels were published between 1846 and 1866. She sometimes made use of her experiences in Australia, especially in Bengala, or Some Time Ago. Some of these books ran into more than one edition. She died in 1873 and was survived by her husband, six sons and a daughter.

Works