Author: Bowles, Caroline Anne
Biography:
BOWLES, Caroline Anne (1786-1854: ODNB)
pseudonym Baroness de Katzeleben
She was born at Buckland Manor, near Lymington, Hampshire, to Captain Charles Bowles of the East India Company and Anne (Burrard) Bowles. When she was very young, the family moved to modest Buckland cottage where she lived for much of her life. By 1817 she was orphaned and in financial distress; hoping to earn an income with her poetry, she sought advice from Robert Southey. Although his publisher, John Murray, turned down her work, Ellen Fitzarthur was successfully published by Longman. Her foster brother also helped her financially by settling on her an annuity of £150. Southey became a mentor and friend and, after the death of his first wife, she married him and moved to Greta Hall, Keswick, in 1839—just months before he was incapacitated by his senile dementia. The challenges of her situation at Greta Hall were made worse by the hostility of some of Southey’s children, but she proved a devoted nurse to her husband. She was a lively correspondent who developed a strong friendship with William Blackwood. He printed a number of her works (both poetry and prose) in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine before they appeared in volume publication. After Southey’s death in 1843, she returned to Buckland cottage where ill-health put an end to her writing. (ODNB: 4 Apr 2018; RPW)
Other Names:
- Miss Bowles