Elizabeth Rundle Charles

Born in Tavistock, Devon, on January 2, 1828, she was the daughter of John Rundle, a Member of Parliament. Early in life, some of her poems were admired by Alfred Tennyson, and in 1851 she married Andrew Paton Charles.

She became a prolific English author and hymn writer, associated with the Anglican tradition. Her best-known work is The Chronicles of the Schönberg-Cotta Family, a historical novel centered on Martin Luther and the world of the Reformation, and she went on to publish many other books with religious and historical themes.

She died at Hampstead, London, on March 28, 1896. Remembered for making Christian history readable and engaging for general audiences, she remains of interest to readers who enjoy Victorian religious fiction, biography, and hymnody.