Mary Hearne facts for kids

Mary Hearne was a name used for a writer whose books were published around 1718. It's a bit of a mystery, as we don't know much about the real person behind this name!

Who Was Mary Hearne?

It's quite possible that "Mary Hearne" wasn't the author's real name. In those days, publishers sometimes hired writers to create stories and then gave them made-up names. This was especially true for a publisher named Edmund Curll, who often did this. So, the books published under the name Mary Hearne might not have been written by a woman, or at least not by someone actually named Mary Hearne.

Even a big book called the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which lists important people, talks about "Mary Hearne." But even this book doesn't have any official records like birth, death, or marriage dates for her. This makes her story even more mysterious!

The Books of Mary Hearne

Two novels (which are like long stories or books) were published using the name Mary Hearne.

• The first book was called The Lover's Week. It came out in 1718. This book was dedicated to another writer named Delariviere Manley.
• The second book was titled The Female Deserters. It was published in 1719.

Edmund Curll, the publisher, later put these two novels together in one book in 1720. He gave this combined book a new title: Honour, the Victory; and Love, the Prize. However, even though the title was new, the stories inside were exactly the same as the first two books.

Curll also had these stories published in parts, like a series, in a newspaper called Heathcote's Original London Post in 1724. Again, the stories themselves were not changed. These novels were known for being very exciting and well-written, full of drama and adventure!