author
Mrs. Mannington Caffyn
d. 1926
A nurse turned bestselling novelist, she wrote under the pen name "Iota" and became known for vivid late-Victorian fiction that explored modern relationships and social change. Her life moved from Ireland to London and Australia before her writing found a wide readership.
3 Audiobooks
A Yellow Aster, Volume 1 (of 3)
by Mrs. Mannington Caffyn
A Yellow Aster, Volume 2 (of 3)
by Mrs. Mannington Caffyn
A Yellow Aster, Volume 3 (of 3)
by Mrs. Mannington Caffyn
About the author
Born in County Tipperary, Ireland, Kathleen Mannington Caffyn trained as a nurse in London before building a second career as a writer. After marrying surgeon Stephen Mannington Caffyn, she moved to Australia, where she supported the professional development of nursing and began publishing fiction in newspapers and magazines.
She became best known under the pseudonym Iota. Her novel A Yellow Aster brought her major success in the 1890s, and she went on to write popular fiction noted for its interest in emotional independence, marriage, and the changing place of women in society.
Caffyn died on February 6, 1926, in Turin, Italy. Remembered as both a nurse and a novelist, she remains an interesting figure for readers drawn to fin-de-siècle fiction and the literary world around the "New Woman" era.