author
Mrs. Frederic West
d. 1886
A Victorian writer and traveler, she is best remembered for lively nonfiction and fiction that drew on the people and places she observed closely. Her work includes a firsthand account of Ireland during the famine years and later novels set in London and beyond.
1 Audiobook
Owen's Fortune; Or, "Durable Riches"
by Mrs. Frederic West
About the author
Born Theresa Whitby in 1805, she later became known in print as Mrs. Frederic West and, more formally, Theresa Cornwallis West. She was the daughter of Royal Navy captain John Whitby and wrote under her married name, a common practice for women writers of her time.
Her best-known book, A Summer Visit to Ireland in 1846, was published in 1847 and records a journey through Ireland during a year of deep crisis. She also wrote fiction, including Frying-Pan Alley and Doom of Doolandour, showing a range that stretched from travel writing to socially minded Victorian storytelling.
She died in 1886. While detailed biographical records are limited, the surviving works suggest an observant, engaged writer with a strong interest in the lives of ordinary people and the realities of the world around her.