Lillian Spender
{{Short description|English reviewer and novelist (1835–1895)}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox writer
|name = Lillian Spender
|image = Lillian Spender (1835–1895).png
|imagesize =
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|pseudonym =
|birth_name = Lillian Headland
|birth_date = {{birth date|1835|2|22|df=y}}
|birth_place = London, England
|death_date = {{death date and age|1895|5|4|1835|2|22|df=y}}
|death_place = Bath, England
|occupation = novelist
|nationality = English
|citizenship =
|education = Queen's College, London
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|spouse = John Kent Spender (1858–1882)
|partner =
|children = J. A. Spender (1862–1942)
Harold Spender (1864–1926)
Hugh Frederick Spender (1873–1930)
1 other son
|relatives = Stephen Spender (grandson)
|influences =
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Lillian Spender (usually known as Mrs. John Kent Spender; 22 February 1835 – 4 May 1895) was an English writer. She contributed to major English reviews and turned later to novel-writing.
Early years and education
Lillian (known informally as Lily) Headland was born on 22 February 1835 as the daughter of Edward Headland, a well-known physician of Portland Place, London. Her mother was the daughter of Ferdinand de Medina, a Spaniard. Spender was educated at Queen's College, Harley Street.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}
Career
In 1858, she married John Kent Spender, physician to the Mineral Water Hospital, Bath.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}
After her marriage, Spender turned her attention to literature. She contributed to the London Quarterly Review, the English Woman's Journal, the Dublin University Review, the British Quarterly Review, and a magazine called Meliora, but after 1869, she mainly wrote novels. She was active in education and social work in Bath until her health failed.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}
Lillian Spender died at Bath on 4 May 1895. Seven of Spender's eight children survived her. Two of her sons, J. A. Spender and Harold Spender, became London journalists.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}
Selected works
- Brothers-in-Law (1869)
- Her Own Fault (1871)
- Parted Lives (1873)
- Jocelyn's Mistake (1875)
- Mark Eylmer's Revenge (1876)
- Both in the Wrong (1878)
- Godwyn's Ordeal (1879)
- Till Death Us Do Part (1881)
- Gabrielle de Bourdaine (1882)
- Mr. Nobody (1884)
- The Recollections of a Country Doctor (1885)
- Trust Me: A Novel (1886)
- Her Brother's Keeper: A Novel (1887)
- Kept Secret (1888)
- Lady Hazelton's Confession (1890)
- A Waking (1892)
- A Strange Temptation (1893)
- A Modern Quixote (1894)
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{DNB|first=Edward Irving |last=Carlyle | author-link = E. I. Carlyle |wstitle=Spender, Lily|volume=53}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:19th-century English women writers
Category:19th-century English writers
Category:English women novelists
Category:Victorian women writers