author
Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer
1822–1904
A lively English-born American writer and translator, she turned European history into accessible, engaging books for general readers. Her work ranged from fiction and travel writing to popular histories of France, Russia, England, and Italy.
1 Audiobook
France in the Nineteenth Century
by Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer
About the author
Born Mary Elizabeth Wormeley in London on July 26, 1822, she was the daughter of Rear Admiral Ralph Randolph Wormeley and Caroline Preble. She was educated in both England and the United States, and that transatlantic background helped shape the broad outlook that runs through her writing.
After marrying Randolph Brandt Latimer in 1856, she became known as Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer. She wrote original works and translations, but she is especially remembered for readable books on European history and society, including volumes on France, England, Russia, and Italy that brought major events and personalities to a wide audience.
Latimer died in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 4, 1904. Today she stands out as a versatile 19th-century author who had a gift for making history feel personal, immediate, and inviting.