author
Mrs. J. B. Dale
1853–1921
Best known for the unusual 1895 guide Indian Palmistry, this late-Victorian writer published under her married name and brought a niche occult subject to English readers. Her work has survived mainly through that curious, compact book.
1 Audiobook
Indian Palmistry
by Mrs. J. B. Dale
About the author
Helena Fenwick Dale, who wrote as Mrs. J. B. Dale, was a British author born on April 21, 1853 and died on April 19, 1921. A Wikisource author page identifies her pen name as one taken from her husband, Sir James Backhouse Dale.
She is chiefly remembered for Indian Palmistry (1895), a short handbook on palm reading published by the Theosophical Publishing Society. The book explains lines, mounts, and markings of the hand, reflecting the late-19th-century English interest in mysticism, comparative religion, and esoteric traditions.
Other catalog listings also connect her with a work titled Ocean Echoes, but readily available public information about her life is otherwise quite limited. No suitable confirmed portrait image was found from the sources checked, so a profile image is not included here.