Author: SAUNDERS, Mary
Biography:
by
Ragaz, Sharon (SR)
SAUNDERS, Mary, later BENNETT (1813-99: ODNB)
Census records give the year of her birth as 1813 and the place as Exeter, Devon; no public records confirming this have been located. She was the daughter of John Saunders, a bookseller, and his wife Sarah Northcote. An elder brother was John Saunders (q.v.). Nothing is known about her early life but in the 1830s she was living in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, with her brother John and together they wrote and published the work listed in this bibliography, The Reformed Parliament. It was reissued in an enlarged edition with a new title, Songs, Sonnets, and Miscellaneous Poems, in 1838. They moved to London where on 17 Feb. 1838 she married a bookseller and writer, John Bennett, at St. Bride's church in the City of London. The 1851 Census shows them living at 29 Henry Street, Clerkenwell, with two daughters (two more were born later) and two servants; her occupation is given as "Author of History." In fact she specialised in historical novels which were issued serially; titles include The Orphan Sisters (1840) and The Gipsy Bride; or, the Miser's Daughter (1841). She also issued Stories from History (1858) and a gift book, The Boy's Own Book of Stories from History (1850). With her husband she edited the Boys' and Girls' Companion from 1857. Although both Mary and John Bennett were prolific writers and their works proved popular, they struggled financially and both applied to the Royal Literary Fund. He first applied in 1870 (£50) and Mary applied in 1872 (£45). Their RLF files are extensive and the Fund was evidently a mainstay of the family. John Bennett was relieved multiple times from his first application until his last in 1889. He is listed in the 1891 Census when the family was living in Fulham but on 30 June 1894 Mary notified the RLF that he had died on 29 June "after a night of agony." In her later years Mary suffered severe health problems, including from a fractured leg which made her unable to walk, and her deteriorating handwriting in the correspondence with the RLF testifies to her steady decline. The Fund continued supporting her until a final payment of £45 on 11 Feb. 1897. She died on 1 Dec. 1899. (ODNB [under John Saunders] 20 July 2026; ancestry.co.uk 20 July 2026; RLF files 1875 & 1815) SR
Other Names:
- Mary Bennett