Charlotte Riddell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlotte Riddell
Charlotte Riddell in 1875
Born	Charlotte Eliza Lawson Cowan (1832-09-30)30 September 1832 Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland
Died	24 September 1906(1906-09-24) (aged 73) Ashford, Kent, England
Nationality	Irish
Period	Victorian
Genre	novel, ghost story
Spouse	Joseph Hadley Riddell ​ ​ (m. 1857; died 1880)​

Charlotte Eliza Lawson Riddell (born Cowan; 30 September 1832 – 24 September 1906) was a very popular and important Irish writer. She lived during the Victorian era, a time when Queen Victoria ruled Britain. Charlotte Riddell wrote 56 books, including novels and short stories. She also became a part-owner and editor of St. James's Magazine, a well-known London magazine in the 1860s.

Charlotte Riddell's Life Story

Charlotte Riddell at age 60

Charlotte Eliza Lawson Cowan was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland. Her birthday was 30 September 1832. She was the youngest daughter of James Cowan and Ellen Kilshaw. Her father was a high sheriff for County Antrim.

In 1855, after her father passed away, Charlotte and her mother moved to London. Her mother died the next year.

In 1857, Charlotte married Joseph Hadley Riddell. He was a civil engineer. They lived in St John's Lodge for a while. This was between Harringay and West Green. They moved out in 1873 as the area was being developed. Charlotte and Joseph did not have any children.

Her first novel was called The Moors and the Fens. It came out in 1858. At first, she used the pen name F. G. Trafford. A pen name is a fake name a writer uses. She started using her real name in 1864.

Charlotte Riddell wrote many novels and stories quickly. Between 1858 and 1902, she published 30 books. One of her most famous books was George Geith of Fen Court. She earned £800 for this book. That was a lot of money back then! This book was even turned into a play in 1883.

From 1867, Mrs. Riddell helped own and edit St. James's Magazine. She also edited another magazine called Home in the 1860s. She wrote short stories for other publications too. Her short stories were not as popular as her novels.

Charlotte Riddell was also famous for writing ghost stories. Five of her novels were about buildings with spooky happenings. These included Fairy Water and The Uninhabited House. She also wrote shorter ghost stories. Some of these were "The Open Door" and "Nut Bush Farm". These stories were put together in a book called Weird Stories.

Her husband died in 1880. After 1886, she lived a quiet life in Upper Halliford, Middlesex. She was the first writer to receive a pension from the Society of Authors. This meant she got £60 a year starting in 1901. She died from cancer in Ashford, Kent, on 24 September 1906.

Charlotte Riddell's Writing Style

Mrs. Riddell brought a new idea to English novels. She often wrote about business and money. She knew a lot about the City of London. Many of her stories took place there. She was also very good at describing places she had never seen. For example, she wrote The Moors and the Fens without ever visiting that area.

Charlotte Riddell's Books

Here are some of the books Charlotte Riddell published:

Novels by Charlotte Riddell

Cover of The Uninhabited House

• Zuriel's Grandchild (1856)
• The Ruling Passion (1857)
• The Moors and the Fens (1857)
• The Rich Husband (1858)
• Too Much Alone (1860)
• City and Suburb (1861)
• The World in Church (1862)
• George Geith of Fen Court (1864)
• Maxwell Drewitt (1865)
• Phemie Keller (1866)
• The Race for Wealth (1866)
• Far Above Rubies (1867)
• My First Love (1869)
• Austin Friars (1870)
• Long Ago (1870)
• A Life's Assize (1871)
• How to Spend a Month in Ireland (1872)
• The Earl's Promise (1873)
• Home, Sweet Home (1873)
• Fairy Water (1873)
• Mortomley's Estate (1874)
• The Haunted House at Latchford (also Fairy Water) (1872)
• The Uninhabited House (1875)
• Above Suspicion (1876)
• The Haunted River (1877)
• Her Mother's Darling (1877)
• The Disappearance of Jeremiah Redworth (1878)
• Maxwell Drewitt (1879)
• The Mystery in Palace Gardens (1880)
• Alaric Spenceley (1881)
• The Senior Partner (1881)
• A Struggle for Fame (1883)
• Susan Drummond (1884)
• Berna Boyle: A Love Story of the County Down (1884)
• Mitre Court (1885)
• The Government Official (1887)
• The Nun's Curse (1888)
• Head of the Firm (1892)
• Daisies and Buttercups (around 1900)

Collections of Stories

• Frank Sinclair's Wife: And Other Stories (1874)
• Weird Stories (1882)
• Idle Tales (1887)
• Princess Sunshine: And Other Stories (1889)
• Handsome Phil: And Other Stories (1899)
• The Collected Ghost Stories of Mrs J. H. Riddell (1977)
• A Little Purple Book of Sharp Wit (2022)

Books with Riddell's Stories

• The 7th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1971)
• Victorian Tales of Terror (1972)
• The Penguin Book of Classic Fantasy by Women (1977)
• Gaslit Nightmares (1988)
• 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories (1992)
• The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2000)

Short Stories by Charlotte Riddell

• "Banshee's Warning" (1867)
• "A Strange Christmas Game" (1868)
• "Forewarned, Forearmed" (1874)
• "Hertford O'Donnell's Warning" (1874)
• "Nut Bush Farm" (1882)
• "The Old House in Vauxhall Walk" (1882)
• "Old Mrs Jones" (1882)
• '"The Open Door" (1882)
• "Sandy the Tinker" (1882)
• "Walnut-Tree House" (1882)
• "The Last of Squire Ennismore" (1888)
• "A Terrible Vengeance" (1889)
• "Why Dr Cray Left Southam" (1889)
• "Conn Kilrea" (1899)
• "The Rusty Sword" (1893)
• "Diarmid Chittock's Story" (1899)
• "Handsome Phil" (1899)