Author: Fannie Surtees
Author: Fannie Surtees (1847–1913)
Alternate Name(s): Cherith (pseudonym); Frances Jane Surtees (legal name)
Biography: Fannie Surtees was born around 1847 in Warden near Hexham, the daughter of wine merchant Honywood Graham Surtees and his wife Jane Maughan. She grew up in wealth and comfort. Beginning early in life, she wrote several collections of stories, the first of which were under the pseudonym "Cherith" the the later under her legal name. Judging by the dedications of her books she moved in high circles of the titled and she was fond of noting she was the niece of the Bishop of Exeter. In the 1890s, she took an interest in temperance and she traveled around England and Ireland to promote it. As one Irish paper stated, she "devoted her time, her fortune, and her position in life to the good work she is now pursuing." She spent her later years in Scarborough. Surtees never married and died on 25 August 1913 in Scarborough. Her ample fortune was spread amongst her sister and cousins.
References: British Census (1861, 1891, 1911); Irish Society (25 June 1892); Probate
Fiction Titles:
- Home-Spun Stories. 1 vol. London: Hatchards, 1877.
- Bric-a-Brac Stories. 1 vol. London: Hatchards, 1878.
- Byway Gleanings. 1 vol. London: Partridge, 1878.
- Witton's-Main: And Other Stories. 1 vol. London: Partridge, 1880.
- The Harvest Home, and Other Stories. 1 vol. London: Partridge, 1884.