Geraldine Penrose Fitzgerald facts for kids

Geraldine Penrose Fitzgerald (born January 27, 1846 – died August 1, 1939) was an Irish writer. She wrote novels and became a Catholic.

Her Early Life

Geraldine Penrose Fitzgerald was born on January 27, 1846. People also knew her as Fanny Louisa. Her parents were Robert Uniacke and Frances Matilda Penrose-Fitzgerald. She was their youngest child. She had at least three brothers and one sister.

Her family had a home in London at Norfolk Square. They also had a family estate called Corkbeg House in County Cork, Ireland. This house was near Cork Harbour. The family enjoyed boating and rowing there. Her oldest brother was Sir Robert Uniacke-Penrose-Fitzgerald.

In 1881, Geraldine briefly studied at Somerville College, Oxford. She was likely the first Catholic woman student at Oxford University.

Becoming a Catholic

As a teenager, Geraldine became interested in Anglo-Catholicism. This was a part of the Anglican Church that had some Catholic practices. For example, she started going to confession. This was very unusual for Anglicans at the time. She went to Edward Bouverie Pusey for confession.

Her family tried to stop her. But she was very interested in a book by John Henry Newman called Apologia pro vita sua. She bought it secretly. She prayed at a church in St Stephen's Green. She wanted to become a Catholic. But she hesitated because her family was against it.

She started writing to Newman around 1867. He thought she was very "simple and frank." Even though her family strongly disagreed, she became a Catholic in May 1869. Newman continued to give her advice. He helped her with religious matters and later with her novels and publishers. He called her "My dear child" in his letters.

Newman visited the Fitzgerald family in London on February 22, 1876. He charmed her mother and sister. Later, they exchanged gifts with Newman. They also congratulated him when he became a cardinal in 1878.

Her Books and Ideas

Fitzgerald wrote five or six novels. She might have also written for Catholic magazines like the Lamp. Her books were popular when they came out. But they are not widely read today.

Her first book, Ereighda Castle (1870), was published under the name Naseby. Her second novel, Only three weeks (1872), featured a character who joined a friary. Around this time, Fitzgerald told Newman she had left her family to join a convent herself. He advised her not to make quick decisions. He also did not approve of her leaving her mother so suddenly. So, she returned to her family.

Her third novel, Was she tamed? (1875), was published by "the author of Only three weeks." This book explored ideas about Home Rule in Ireland. This was a political movement for Ireland to govern itself. Isaac Butt was a leader of this movement.

In 1882, she sent a story manuscript to Newman. It showed a character like Charles Stewart Parnell in a bad light. Fitzgerald thought Parnell and his followers were causing murders. Newman criticized these parts, and she removed them. She wrote about her family's pain because of the Irish National Land League. This group fought for farmers' rights. The book that came from this was her 1885 novel, Oaks and birches. Newman's last letters to Fitzgerald praised her new novel.

As Newman's health declined, his influence on Fitzgerald lessened. This allowed her to express her strong feelings against Home Rule and the Land League. Her last known novel, The silver whistle (1890), explored these topics. She used a story with hidden meanings to do this.

There is not much information about Fitzgerald's life after 1890. In her last book, she seemed to support women's suffrage, which meant women getting the right to vote. She stated these views again in a letter to the Cork Examiner in June 1917.

Fitzgerald moved to the south coast of England in the 1920s. She lived there for the rest of her life. The Irish Times interviewed her in June 1934. She talked about meeting John Bosco in 1884. In 1938, a journalist from Cork interviewed her about her family's memories of Sarah Curran. She also wrote a long letter to Francis Browne about her conversion and contact with Newman. Parts of this letter were published with Newman's letters. Geraldine Penrose Fitzgerald died on August 1, 1939, in Bournemouth.

List of Her Books

• Ereighda Castle (1870)
• Only three weeks (1872)
• Was she tamed? (1875)
• Oaks and birches (1885)
• Audrey Ferris (1889)
• The silver whistle (1890)