Rita

Writing as Rita, Eliza Margaret Jane Humphreys was a Scottish novelist born in 1850 who went on to build an exceptionally large body of work. She published novels, plays, and essays over many years, and her fiction found a broad readership in Britain and beyond.

She is often remembered for the sheer scale of her career: sources describe her as the author of around 120 books, and many of her works were issued under her pen name rather than her full name. In addition to writing, she is noted for founding the Writers’ Club for Women, showing that her role in literary life extended beyond her own books.

Some library records list her as “Rita, 1860–1938,” but biographical sources identify her as born on June 14, 1850, in Inverness-shire, Scotland, and dying on January 1, 1938. Today she stands as one of those once-famous popular authors whose work offers a lively glimpse into the tastes and storytelling style of her era.