Author: Lewis, Mary Gogo
Biography:
LEWIS, Mary Gogo (fl 1823-39)
Lewis published three novels in addition to the work listed in this bibliography: Gwenllean, A Tale (1823), Ambition (1825), and The Jewish Maiden (1830). She may have been born in Glamorgan, Wales, but by the 1820s she was living in London with her widowed mother. No public records that can reliably be linked to her have yet been found. Over a period of fifteen years from Mar. 1824 to Mar. 1839 she wrote numerous letters to the RLF and they are the source for the little that is known about her, including her forenames. The letters were written from lodging houses in London and one, dated 12 June 1826, was sent from the Marshalsea prison where she was incarcerated with her mother for owing money to various creditors. They give some details of her dealings with publishers. She earned nothing for Gwenllean because J. C. Spence, the publisher, was imprisoned for insolvency. A. K. Newman, publisher of The Jewish Maiden, paid £20 for the copyright. Possibly her most lucrative work was Zelinda which has a short but respectable subscription list including the name of Wyndham Lewis, MP for Glamorganshire, although he does not seem to have been a relation. Lewis had been a governess before attempting to earn a living by writing and in 1833 she went to Paris in preparation for a return to teaching. A letter to the RLF dated from Paris on 6 Nov. 1834 describes how her mother, who was letting out rooms in London, had been defrauded and was in desperate circumstances. The RLF awarded Lewis a total of £65. Her final letter to the fund is dated 15 Mar. 1839. (RLF file 507; ancestry.co.uk 28 Apr. 2024; EN2) SR
Other Names:
- M. G. Lewis
- Mary G. Lewis
- M.[Mary] G. Lewis