M. M. (Matilda Maria) Blake

Matilda Maria Blake is known for The Siege of Norwich Castle: A Story of the Last Struggle Against the Conqueror, published in 1893. Public catalog records and Project Gutenberg listings identify her as the author of that novel, and the book itself was issued with illustrations by the author.

She also appears to have worked in a similar illustrated historical mode on The Glory and Sorrow of Norwich, another Norwich-centered work attributed to M. M. Blake. Based on those records, she seems to have had a strong interest in English history and in presenting it through both words and pictures.

Very little biographical information about her is readily confirmed from reliable online sources, so the details of her life remain obscure. What does come through clearly is the character of her work: energetic historical storytelling, a focus on Norfolk and Norwich, and an uncommon combination of novelist and illustrator.