Author: Laura Louise McLauchan Backler
Author: Laura Louise McLauchan Backler (1849–1909)
Biography: Laura Louisa McLauchlan Backler was born on 28 February 1849 in Clapham, the daughter of gas company owner Henry McLauchan Backler and his wife Eliza. She and her sister grew up in comfort. Backler never married and dedicated her life and income to charity for the poor. In addition, she wrote fiction, including the novel "Issy" (1885). Her death was strange: suffering from diabetes, she began acting strangely. She left home on 8 September 1909 to mail a letter and was found the next day drowned in a pond in Richmond Park. Her clothes were piled on the shore so her death appeared to be a suicide though the verdict was "found drowned." Equally strange, she left her sizable estate to a clergyman and his family rather than to the numerous charities she supported in life. There were accusations of undue influence.
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References: Backlers (https://backlers.com); British Census (1901); Chiswick Times (17 September 1909); Probate
Fiction Titles:
- "Issy": A Story of Trust and Triumph. 1 vol. London: Partridge, 1885.