Ellen Davitt
| Ellen Davitt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1812 Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire |
| Died |
6 January 1879 Fitzroy, Victoria |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Notable works | Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush |
Ellen Davitt was an Australian writer who was born in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire in 1812. Born Marie Antoinette Hélène Léontine (Ellen) Heseltine, she married Arthur Davitt, an educationalist, in Jersey in 1845. The couple arrived in Australia on 31 July 1854 with the aim of opening a new Model School.[1] However, internal disagreements and a financial recession resulted in the discharge of the Davitts in 1859. Arthur contracted tuberculosis and died in 1860. Ellen continued to teach and also began writing after his death.[2]
Although some of her early work has been lost she is now credited with having written the first Australian murder mystery with her novel Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush in 1865.[2]
Ellen Davitt began teaching again in 1874 but she died in extreme poverty in Fitzroy, in 1879.[2]
Davitt was a sister-in-law of English writer Anthony Trollope, but appears to have had little contact with him.[2]
Australia's crime writing award for women, the Davitt Award, is named in her honour.
Bibliography
- Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush (1865)
- Uncle Vincent : Or, Love and Hatred (1866)
References
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography - Arthur Davitt
- 1 2 3 4 The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, 2nd edition, p221