Author: Marian James
Author: Marian James (1830–1910)
Biography: Marian Julia James was born on 7 August 1830 in London, the only child of music publisher William Nelson James and his wife Mary Ann. She must have come from wealth, because she lived a life of comfort and generous philanthropy. She counted the merchant Emily Coates, the poet Sydney Dobell, his wife Emily Dobell, and novelist Emily Jolly as friends (she will be found living with one or more in the censuses). No doubt inspired by this circle, she wrote several works of fiction herself. As a resident of Hampstead, she donated a reading room in memory of her friend Coates. In Hindhead, she donated a village hall among other bequests. She never married and died on 10 November 1910 in Hindhead leaving an estate valued at £92,240 of which £75,000 went to charities.
References: British Census (1851, 1861, 1871, 1881); Hampstead News (24 November 1910); Surrey Advertiser (19 November 1910)
Fiction Titles:
- Ethel: or, The Double Error. 1 vol. London: James Hogg, 1854.
- A Lord of the Creation. 1 vol. London: James Hogg, 1857.
- Not an Angel. 2 vol. London: Sampson Low, 1863.
- A Girl's Romance. 1 vol. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1867.
- The Diamond on the Hearth: or, The Story of Sister Anne. 1 vol. London: James Hogg, 1868.
- A Woman's Faith. 3 vol. London: Sampson Low, 1872.