Amelia Gillespie Smyth

Amelia Gillespie Smyth (1788–1876) was a Scottish writer who published numerous works in the mid-nineteenth century, including a series of books on Christian scriptures for children[1] and a biography of sixteenth-century Italian classical scholar Olympia Morata.[2]

Literary career

Smyth's novel Selwyn in Search of a Daughter was initially published in serial form in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine from January to June 1827. The story "Marriage Impromptu" by Smyth was published in Fraser's Magazine in 1832.[3] Both works were included in the three-volume collection Selwyn in Search of a Daughter and Other Tales, which was published by Saunders and Otley in 1835.[3]

Another book by Smyth, titled Fit to be a Duchess: With other stories of Courage and Principle, was published by Ward and Lock in 1860. It was illustrated by E. H. Corbould and J. Absolon.[4]

Mornings with Mama, is a series of dialogues about Christian scripture between a mother and daughter. Of these dialogues, Marion Ann Taylor and Heather Weir write, "Smyth adopted the genre of catechetical writing, casting her interpretive work as a series of conversations between Mama and her child, Mary. Smyth's lessons were not confined to a study of Jesus' life and ministry. Other related lessons on ancient customs and the nature of Scripture, including a discussion of the nature of prophecy and gospel harmonies, were included as sidebars."[1]

Bibliography

  • Selwyn in Search of a Daughter (1827)[3]
  • Tales of the Moors; or, Rainy Days in Ross-Shire (1828)[5][6]
  • Probation and Other Tales (1832)[5]
  • OLYMPIA MORATA: Her Times, Life and Writings, arranged from contemporary and other authorities (1834)[2]
  • Fit to be a Duchess: With other stories of Courage and Principle (1860)[4]
  • Mornings with Mama, or Dialogues on Scripture for Young Persons[1]

Private life

Smyth was born in Vienna, Austria, on 8 July 1788.[1][7] She was an illegitimate child, first known as Amelia Gordon. Her father was Sir Robert Murray Keith (died 1795), was a diplomat in the city; her mother was Marianne Mullin, who later married a surgeon in Moelke.[7]

Under the terms of Keith's will, Amelia Gordon was in the care of British trustees Robert Arbuthnot and Catherine Gandy.[7] She became a ward of Anne Murray Keith, Keith's sister, in Edinburgh.[8]

Amelia was a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church[1] and married Robert Gillespie, who later adopted the surname Smyth.[9] Smyth moved to England following her husband's death in 1855.[1] She died in 1876.[1][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Taylor, Marion Ann; Weir, Heather (2016-11-20). Women in the Story of Jesus: The Gospels through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4674-4624-2.
  2. ^ a b "OLYMPIA MORATA: Her Times, Life and Writings, arranged from contemporary and other authorities by Smyth, Amelia Gillespie: (1834) First edition. | By The Way Books". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  3. ^ a b c "Title: Selwyn in Search of a Daughter and Other Tales". www.victorianresearch.org. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  4. ^ a b "Title: Fit to be a Duchess". www.victorianresearch.org. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  5. ^ a b "WPHP". womensprinthistoryproject.com. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  6. ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Archives & Special Collections - Discover our collections - Special Collections A-Z - Novel Collection - Scottish Fiction extended list". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  7. ^ a b c Du Toit, Alexander. "Keith, Sir Robert Murray, of Murrayshall (1730–1795)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15272. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ Rintoul, M. C. (5 March 2014). Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction. Routledge. p. 559. ISBN 978-1-136-11932-3.
  9. ^ a b "Author: Amelia Gillispie Smyth". www.victorianresearch.org. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
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