Author: Sophia Caroline Bridgeman
Author: Sophia Caroline Bridgeman (1833–1915)
Alternate Name(s): Vere Grey (pseudonym); Close (maiden name)
Biography: Sophia Caroline Bridgeman was born on 29 June 1833 in Richmond, the eldest daughter of army officer Robert Henry Close. She grew up in great comfort. In 1856, she married civil engineer Henry Orlando Bridgeman, the grandson of the 1st Earl of Bradford. The couple had no children. Bridgeman in middle age wrote two novels under the pseudonym "Vere Grey" but neither made much of a mark. Her husband died in 1879 and the widow moved to Lichfield where she wrote a third novel which was published under her own name. She died on 3 June 1915 in Lichfield. Her obituary notes her generous philanthropy and she left a £85,000 fortune.
References: British Census (1861, 1881, 1901, 1911); Lichfield Mercury (4 June 1915); Probate
Fiction Titles:
- Cecil Crofton's Repentance. 2 vol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1878.
- The Unequal Marriage: or, Is He the Heir?. 3 vol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1879.
- Uncle George's Money: A Story. 2 vol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1884.