Maria Abdy

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MA , whose work spans the Romantic and Victorian periods, was a poet who wrote wittily on religious and secular topics, and was an early champion of the governess. With Felicia Hemans , she was the one of the two most prolific British contributors to annuals in the USA.
Lee, Amice. Laurels & Rosemary: The Life of William and Mary Howitt. Oxford University Press, 1955.
105
  • BirthName: Maria Smith
  • Nickname: Mira
    Blain, Virginia et al., editors. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Yale University Press; Batsford, 1990.
    Feldman, Paula R., editor. British Women Poets of the Romantic Era. John Hopkins University Press, 1997.
    1

  • Married: Abdy
  • Pseudonym: M. A.
Title-page, slightly yellowed, of the earliest, 1834, of a series of volumes which Maria Abdy issued "for private circulation", titled simply "Poetry". It states: "The greater part of these verses have appeared at various times, in different magazines and annuals."

Milestones

25 February 1797

Maria Smith (later MA ) was born in London; she was an only child.
Blain, Virginia et al., editors. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Yale University Press; Batsford, 1990.
Ashfield, Andrew, editor. Romantic Women Poets. Manchester University Press, 1997–1998, 2 vols.
2: 178

1834

MA , as Mrs. Abdy, printed for private circulation the first volume in her eight-volume series Poetry.
Blain, Virginia et al., editors. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Yale University Press; Batsford, 1990.

19 July 1867

MA died at 7 Upper Marine Terrace in Margate.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.
Ashfield, Andrew, editor. Romantic Women Poets. Manchester University Press, 1997–1998, 2 vols.
2: 178

Biography

Birth

25 February 1797

Maria Smith (later MA ) was born in London; she was an only child.
Blain, Virginia et al., editors. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Yale University Press; Batsford, 1990.
Ashfield, Andrew, editor. Romantic Women Poets. Manchester University Press, 1997–1998, 2 vols.
2: 178

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