author
Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer
1822–1904
An English-born American writer and translator, she turned European history and biography into lively, accessible reading for a broad audience. Her books ranged from royal lives to major political eras, reflecting a lifelong fascination with literature, languages, and the past.
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 Wormeley. She was educated in Boston and later married Randolph Brandt Latimer in 1856, eventually making her home in Baltimore.
She built a substantial literary career as both an author and translator. In addition to translating works from French, she wrote many popular history and biographical books, especially on European subjects, helping general readers approach complex historical periods through clear, readable narratives.
Latimer remained an active figure in literary life into her later years and died in Baltimore on January 4, 1904. She is remembered as a prolific nineteenth-century writer whose work connected American readers with European history, culture, and literature.