F. A. (Frances Alice) Forbes

Born in Scotland in 1869, Frances Alice Monica Forbes wrote under the name F. A. Forbes. Sources describe her as being raised in a Presbyterian family, losing her mother when she was young, becoming a Roman Catholic in 1900, and then entering the Society of the Sacred Heart as a postulant later that same year.

She became known as a religious author, especially for short biographies of saints and church figures. Her books include lives of Saint Monica, Saint Athanasius, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Benedict, and Saint John Bosco, and they are still circulated in print, digital editions, and audiobook recordings.

Readers often come to her for writing that is simple, earnest, and easy to follow. Even when the books are compact, they aim to make historical and spiritual lives feel immediate, which helps explain why her work has remained accessible long after her death in 1936.