Image of L. T. Meade

Timeline

Lifetime: 1844 - 1914 Passed: ≈ 110 years ago

Title

Writer, Editor

Country/Nationality

Ireland
Wikipedia

L. T. Meade

L. T. Meade was the pseudonym of Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, a prolific writer of girls' stories. She was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, daughter of Rev. R. T. Meade, of Nohoval, County Cork. She later moved to London, where she married Alfred Toulmin Smith in September 1879.

She began writing at 17 and produced over 300 books in her lifetime, being so prolific that no fewer than eleven new titles under her byline appeared in the first few years after her death. She was primarily known for her books for young people, of which the most famous was A World of Girls, published in 1886. However, she also wrote "sentimental" and "sensational" stories, religious stories, historical novels, adventure, romances, and mysteries, including several with male co-authors. The first of these was Dr. Clifford Halifax, with whom she first collaborated in 1893 and wrote six books. A year later she first teamed with Robert Eustace, and turned out eleven volumes with him. Her last co-author was Sir Robert Kennaway Douglas (her daughter's father-in-law); they produced only one book, in 1897. The Eustace partnerships are notable for two female villains, Madame Sara (in The Sorceress of the Strand) and Madame Koluchy (the mastermind of a band of gangsters, in The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings). Meade and Eustace also created the occult detective and palmist Diana Marburg ("the Oracle of Maddox Street"), who first appeared in the US edition of Pearson's Magazine in 1902. One of her most unusual titles is Dumps; A Plain Girl (1905). She was also the editor of a popular girls' magazine, Atalanta.

Meade was a feminist and a member of the Pioneer Club. Following the death of women's-rights pioneer and Pioneer Club founder Emily Langton Massingberd (1847–1897), Meade wrote a novel in 1898 based on her life titled The Cleverest Woman in England.

Books by L. T. Meade

The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings Cover image

The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings

Crime Fiction
Detective Mystery

“That a secret society, based upon the lines of similar institutions so notorious on the Continent during the last century, could ever have existed in the London of our day may seem impossible. Such a society, however, not only did exist, but through...

A Girl of High Adventure Cover image

A Girl of High Adventure

Fiction Fairy Tale
Family Truth Children Adventure Storm Faith Childhood

Marguerite St. Juste was Irish on her mother's side, who was born of the Desmonds of Desmondstown in the County Kerry. Marguerite's father was a French Comte, whose grandfather had been one of the victims of the guillotine. Both her parents are dead...

A World of Girls: The Story of a School Cover image

A World of Girls: The Story of a School

Novel
Young School Influential Loyalty Friendship Struggle Competition Women

It follows the lives of a group of girls who attend a prestigious boarding school in England. Written in 1886, the book explores themes of friendship, loyalty, and the struggles of growing up. The story is centered around the character of Jeanie, a...

The Miss Florence Cusack Mysteries Cover image

The Miss Florence Cusack Mysteries

Fiction Novel
Truth Justice Journey Determination Observation Detective Fiction Threat

In a world dominated by male detectives, Miss Cusack emerged as a beacon of female intellect and determination. With her sharp mind, keen observation skills, and unwavering sense of justice, she tackled a series of intricate mysteries, proving her pr...