E. A. (Elizabeth Amy) Dillwyn

Born in Swansea in 1845, Amy Dillwyn was a Welsh novelist, businesswoman, and benefactor. She came from a prominent family, and later became known as one of the first female industrialists in Britain after taking on the management of her family’s spelter works.

She published novels including The Rebecca Rioter and Chloe Arguelle, and her fiction is often noted for its wit, strong sense of place, and interest in social questions. Research from Swansea University has also helped renew attention to her work and her place in Welsh literary and queer history.

Dillwyn died in 1935, having spent much of her life in and around Swansea. Today she is remembered not only as a writer, but as a strikingly independent figure whose career crossed literature, industry, and public life.