author
E. R. Burden
A little-known Victorian writer remembered for a single surviving novel, this author left behind a school story with a strong sense of purpose and feeling. "Hollowmell" follows a young heroine who tries to make life better for others, giving the book a warm, earnest spirit.
1 Audiobook
Hollowmell : or, A schoolgirl's mission
by E. R. Burden
About the author
Very little is firmly documented about E. R. Burden. The most reliable bibliographic source I found lists the author's birth and death dates as unknown, which suggests Burden remains an obscure figure even within Victorian fiction studies.
Burden is known for Hollowmell; or, A Schoolgirl's Mission, published in Glasgow by John S. Marr and Sons in 1881. The book has survived through later reprints and public-domain editions, including a Project Gutenberg release, which has helped keep this otherwise hard-to-trace author available to modern readers.
Based on the surviving work, Burden seems to have written in the tradition of late 19th-century moral and juvenile fiction: a school-centered story focused on kindness, duty, and social concern. Beyond that single confirmed title, biographical details are scarce, and I couldn't verify a portrait image for this author.