Emma Marshall

Born Emma Martin in Norfolk in 1830, she grew up near Cromer and later in Norwich, where the cathedral and its surroundings left a strong mark on her imagination. She was educated at a private school, and after moving with her mother to Clifton, Bristol, she began writing to entertain and instruct young people.

Her first story, Happy Days at Fernbank, appeared in 1861, and she went on to become an extraordinarily prolific author, writing more than 200 novels and tales. Many of her best-known books wove fiction around historical figures or famous settings, including Under Salisbury Spire, Penshurst Castle, and Winchester Meads.

Financial troubles in her family in the late 1870s gave her writing an added urgency, and she kept working with remarkable energy. She died in Clifton on May 4, 1899, leaving behind a large body of children's and historical fiction that was widely read in the English-speaking world.