Matilda Charlotte Houstoun
Matilda Charlotte Houstoun | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 August 1811 Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 1 June 1892 (aged 80) Pimlico, London, England |
| Occupation |
|
| Literary movement | Women's 19th century literature, Sentimental Fiction, Novel of Experience |
| Notable works | Texas and the Gulf of Mexico; or Yachting in the New World, Hesperos or Travels in the West, Recommended to Mercy, Only a woman's life; by one who saved it |
Matilda Charlotte Houstoun (née Jesse; 16 August 1811 – June 1892) was an English travel writer, novelist, biographer, and women's right activist. She is best known for her series of travel writings, particularly Texas and the Gulf of Mexico (1844) and Hesperos, and their observations about African-American life during the times of the Confederate Deep South. Later on, she turned her pen from novels to social reform, particularly on the rights of working class women and single mothers. During her lifetime, her best known work was Recommended to Mercy, a female-driven "yellow-back" novel published in 1862.