author
Mabel Winifred Knowles
1875–1949
A remarkably prolific British writer, she produced hundreds of historical romances, children's stories, and adventure tales while also giving years of service to church work in London's East End. Writing under the names May Wynne and Lester Lurgan, she moved easily between popular fiction, moral tales, and early science fiction.
2 Audiobooks
A Maid of Brittany: A Romance
by Mabel Winifred Knowles
A Blot on the Scutcheon
by Mabel Winifred Knowles
About the author
Born in Streatham, London, on January 1, 1875, Mabel Winifred Knowles became a hugely productive author whose work reached readers under her own name and the pen names May Wynne and Lester Lurgan. She wrote across several popular genres, including historical romance, girls' fiction, children's books, and adventure stories, building a large readership in the first half of the 20th century.
Alongside her writing career, she was deeply involved in church and mission work. Sources describe her as a church worker who devoted many years to leading and supporting mission work in London's docklands, a commitment that sat closely beside her literary life.
She is also remembered for writing some early science fiction under the name Lester Lurgan, giving her a small but interesting place in genre history as well as in popular fiction more broadly. She died in London on November 29, 1949, leaving behind an unusually large and varied body of work.