Catherine Sinclair

Born in Edinburgh on April 17, 1800, Catherine Sinclair was a Scottish novelist and children's writer, and the daughter of Sir John Sinclair. After helping her father as his secretary in his later years, she built a writing career that ranged across fiction, children's books, travel writing, biography, and essays.

She is especially remembered for Holiday House (1839), a book often noted for pushing back against the heavily moralizing style that shaped much children's literature of the period. She has also been credited with recognizing that the anonymously published Waverley novels were written by Sir Walter Scott.

Sinclair was known not only for her books but also for charitable work in Edinburgh. Records about her life highlight gifts such as drinking fountains and public seating, showing the same practical concern for everyday life that helped make her writing memorable. She died in London on August 6, 1864.