Mrs. Henry Wood
Mrs. Henry Wood, born Ellen Price on January 17, 1814, was an English author known for her prolific writing during the Victorian era. After marrying Henry Wood in 1836, she initially lived in France until returning to London in 1856, where she began to publish her work. Her writing often explored themes of crime, including theft, murder, and other nefarious activities, while some of her stories ventured into the realm of fantasy, featuring ghosts and supernatural elements that sought to restore social order. Wood's narratives reflect the typical Victorian values of her time, emphasizing stability, morality, and societal harmony, which were often disrupted in her plots. Despite her success and popularity during her lifetime, she has become largely overlooked in contemporary literary discussions, known primarily to scholars specializing in Victorian women's literature. Her detailed portrayal of the Victorian world offers insights into a bygone era, which may resonate differently with modern audiences. Mrs. Henry Wood passed away on February 10, 1887, leaving behind a body of work that reflects the complexities of her time.
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Subject Terms
Mrs. Henry Wood
Author
- Born: January 17, 1814
- Birthplace: England
- Died: February 10, 1887
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Ellen Price was born on January 17, 1814, into a well-to-do family in England. In 1836, she married Henry Wood, who would subsequently die in 1866. At the time she lived, it was expected that a married woman’s identity be completely subsumed by that of her husband; thus, she was most commonly known as Mrs. Henry Wood.
After her marriage, Wood moved with her husband to France, where they lived until 1856. During this expatriate interlude, she may have begun writing as a pastime, but it is known that after her return to London in 1856, she began to publish her writing and quickly became a best-selling author. Her short stories feature various kinds of crimes, including swindles, thefts, kidnappings, and outright murders. Although some were true mysteries, that is, stories in which the identification and apprehension of the culprit of the crime forms the primary plot, many of them would technically be considered crime or thriller stories, since the detective (if any) is not the protagonist of the story, nor is the solving of the puzzle of the crime the primary thrust of the plot. Other stories and novels veered more toward fantasy, with ghosts and other revenants serving to restore the social harmony caused by the disappearance of a person.
Wood had a very typical Victorian attitude about society, in which stability based upon rank, responsibility, morality, and harmony was to be valued, and its disruption and subsequent restoration lay at the heart of a story’s plot. The Victorian world which she describes in meticulous detail has since been washed away by the changing times, and her realism can almost be read as fantasy by modern readers. Wood died on February 10, 1887, and has since been largely forgotten by all but specialists in Victorian women’s literature.