Sophie Veitch

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SV , a Scotswoman who lived the early part of her life abroad, was a varied and prolific author. Between the 1860s and 1890s she produced ten novels, a travel book, many journal articles (including a short story and literary reviews), and two translations. She is best known for her sensation novels, which focus on hidden madness and extramarital desires, and are remarkable for their unusual perspective on female passion as essential. Her works, although out of print, are nevertheless witty and engaging, and offer an interesting variation on better-known sensation novels.
  • BirthName: Sophie Frances Fain Veitch
  • Pseudonym: J. A. St John Blythe
    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.
    Althoff, Sandra. Email to Orlando. 1 Aug. 2017.

  • Indexed: Sophie F. F. Veitch; S. F. J. Veitch; Sophie F. E. Veitch
    These two mistaken versions of her name appeared on translations by her.

Milestones

1837

Sophie Frances Fain Veitch was born.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.
under Zepherina Philadelphia Smith
Althoff, Sandra. Email to Orlando. 1 Aug. 2017.

By 20 June 1868

SV 's first published work appeared. She provided text for the handsomely produced travel book Views in Central Abyssinia, which contained illustrations done by German artist T. E. between 1853 and 1854.
OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.
Athenæum. J. Lection.
(20 June 1868): 857

By 29 December 1888

SV 's most famous work, the sensation novel The Dean's Daughter, appeared in print.
The Academy.
(29 December 1888): 415

By 23 November 1895

SV 's final novel (and final publication) appeared, entitled A Modern Crusader.
The Academy.
(23 November 1895): 431

January 1907

SV died.
Althoff, Sandra. Email to Orlando. 1 Aug. 2017.

Biography

Birth and Family

1837

Sophie Frances Fain Veitch was born.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.
under Zepherina Philadelphia Smith
Althoff, Sandra. Email to Orlando. 1 Aug. 2017.