Catherine Gore
Catherine Grace Frances Gore was a notable British novelist born in London around 1799 or 1800. She married Charles Gore, a British officer, in 1823 and had ten children, which allowed her to engage with fashionable London society—a theme that permeates her literary work. Gore spent a significant period in Paris from 1832 to 1840, where she hosted a literary salon, enhancing her literary connections. Writing under her own name and the pseudonym Albany Poyntz, she produced many works, including the successful novel *Women as They Are: Or, The Manners of the Day* (1830), which received praise from King George IV.
Despite her initial success, she faced financial difficulties after inheriting a fortune in 1846 and losing most of it in a bank scandal in 1855. Gore's literature often addressed themes of social status, gender roles, and the complexities of domestic life, making her appealing to middle-class women. She wrote over sixty volumes, including novels, dramas, and poetry, with her most popular work, *Cecil: Or, The Adventures of a Coxcomb* (1841), being misattributed to a male author due to its male-centric setting. Her novels are recognized for their historical accuracy, capturing the essence of early nineteenth-century London life.
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Catherine Gore
Author
- Born: c. 1799
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: January 29, 1861
Biography
Not much is known about the early life of novelist Catherine Grace Frances Moody. She was born in 1799 or in 1800 in London, England. Her father was a wine merchant. She married Charles Gore, a British officer, in 1823, and she had ten children. Because her marriage elevated her socially, she was able to move in fashionable London society, a subject prevalent in her novels. She lived in Paris between 1832 and 1840, where she presided over a literary salon in the Place Vendôme. Gore, who published many of her novels anonymously, also wrote under the pseudonym Albany Poyntz. Although she inherited a fortune in 1846, she lost most of it in a bank scandal in 1855.
Gore wrote her novel Theresa Marchmont: Or, The Maid of Honour (1824) in a week. Her Women as They Are: Or, The Manners of the Day (1830), brought her great success when it was praised by King George IV, but many critics thought it to be merely an imitation of the works of famous British novelists Fanny Burney and Jane Austen. In Pin Money (1831), the protagonist Frederica Lauceston marries Sir Brooke Rawleigh and, after running into serious debt, is forced to turn over her finances to her husband. Mothers and Daughters: A Tale of the Year 1830 (1831) demonstrates the threat of encroaching, manipulative women. Intent on climbing up the social ladder, Lady Maria Willingham marries purely for social stature and ends up in a miserable marriage, while her foil character, Mary, who marries solely for love, winds up happy. Gore’s The Hamiltons: Or,the New Era (1834) addresses the machinations surrounding the passage of the First Reform Bill of 1832.
Gore’s most popular novel, Cecil: Or, The Adventures of a Coxcomb (1841), set in Regency London, was published anonymously and was, at first, believed to be written by a man because of its accurate descriptions of prominent male settings. Gore, who often denigrated her own work, had great appeal to middle-class women, and her novels remains recognized for their sense of historical verisimilitude. One critic noted that her novels preserve London life as it existed in the early nineteenth century. She was one of the era’s most prodigious writers, producing in all more than sixty volumes of fiction, drama, and poetry, in addition to travel books.