E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn) Linton

Born at Keswick in 1822, Eliza Lynn Linton largely educated herself and moved to London in the 1840s to make a living by her pen. She went on to build an unusually independent career for a woman of her time, writing novels, essays, journalism, and memoirs.

She is often remembered as the first female salaried journalist in Britain, as well as the author of more than twenty novels. Her writing ranged widely, but her essays became especially well known for their sharp, combative tone and for arguments against organized feminism, which has made her legacy both important and contentious.

Linton married the artist and writer William James Linton, though the marriage later broke down. She continued writing for decades and remained a visible literary voice until her death in London in 1898, leaving behind a body of work that offers a vivid, sometimes uncomfortable window into Victorian debates about gender, work, and modern life.