Lady Maria Callcott

Born Maria Dundas in 1785, she became known first as Maria Graham and later as Lady Callcott. She was a British writer, traveller, and illustrator whose books drew on extensive firsthand experience, including time in India and South America. Her lively travel writing helped make her one of the notable women of the early nineteenth century.

Her interests reached well beyond travel narrative. She wrote on art and history, and many readers came to know her through Little Arthur's History of England, a children's book that remained well known for years. She also had a serious interest in observation and scholarship, bringing detail and curiosity to everything she wrote.

After the death of her first husband, naval officer Thomas Graham, she later married the painter Sir Augustus Wall Callcott. She died in 1842, leaving behind a body of work that links travel, learning, and storytelling in a way that still feels fresh and approachable.