Mary Cholmondeley
Mary Cholmondeley was a British author born in 1859 in Shropshire, England, into a working-class family. As the eldest daughter of a clergyman, she faced significant responsibilities at a young age, particularly caring for her siblings due to her mother's ill health. Cholmondeley struggled with severe physical ailments, including asthma, which shaped her perception of life as challenging and often dull. Literature became her refuge, with George Eliot being one of her favorite authors.
Cholmondeley's writing career began with her second novel, *The Danvers Jewels* (1886), which showcased her talent and led to further works, including the highly popular *Red Pottage* (1899). This novel gained national attention for addressing the hypocrisy within British middle-class society and the clergy through the experiences of its female protagonists. While her success brought her fame, it also attracted criticism that influenced her subsequent writings. Cholmondeley is recognized as part of the New Women Writers movement, a group that used literature to advocate for women's rights and highlight their struggles. Today, she is increasingly acknowledged by feminist critics as a significant figure within this literary movement.
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Subject Terms
Mary Cholmondeley
Author
- Born: June 8, 1859
- Birthplace: Hodnet, Shropshire, England
- Died: July 15, 1925
Biography
Born into a working-class British family in 1859, not much is known about Mary Cholmondeley’s background. She was born in Shropshire, England, the third child and eldest daughter of clergyman Richard Hugh Cholmondeley and Emily Beaumont Cholmondeley. Because of her mother’s ill-health, at the age of sixteen Cholmondeley was cast into a position where she had to care for her eight siblings. She suffered from severe physical ailments that included asthma. In her journals, she describes her life as dull, hard, and wrought with illness. Reading literature proved her only escape. One of her favorite authors was feminist writer George Eliot.
Her second novel, The Danvers Jewels (1886), a humorous tale of suspense about cursed Indian jewels, demonstrated Cholmondeley’s writing ability and led to a sequel, Sir Charles Danvers (1889). Her enormously popular Red Pottage (1899), which shed light on the hypocrisy inherent in the British middle-class and clergy, cast Cholmondeley into national prominence. The novel concerns two women, Rachel West and Hester Gresley, one a writer who overcomes illness to write a masterful novel which her brother destroys, the other an independent woman who marries a deceitful man. While the novel made her a literary star, it also brought severe criticism upon her and affected her future work.
Cholmondeley is part of a late nineteenth and early twentieth century assemblage of writers and activists called New Women Writers who championed women’s rights by shedding light on women’s difficult lives. Although her work was long ago placed on the back of library book shelves, recent feminist critics claim Cholmondeley as a prominent novelist amongst New Woman novelists.