Montgomery, Florence (1843 - 1934) Misunderstood (1869)

Probably born in Donegal, Florence was the eldest daughter of Caroline Rose (Campbell) and Admiral Sir Alexander L. (Allibone's 1129). Montgomery began her career in fiction telling stories to her four younger sisters. She was persuaded to begin publishing her writing by the veteran novelist, Whyte-Melville. She wrote mostly moral tales for children with adolescent girls as both subject matter and audience. In a preface written in 1872, she confessed that even while reading adult fiction, she always felt the desire to side with the children (Sutherland 443).

Her most popular tale was Misunderstood (1869). Misunderstood received the following review: "Though Miss Montgomery had written already a pretty tale of infantine sorrow and parental tenderness, we were not prepared for so faithful and suggestive a picture of childish life as her new story." - Sat. Rev., xxix. 164.

She also wrote Thrown Together (1872), Seaforth, the story of a country house (1878), Colonel Norton, the story of a thoughtless young girl eventually brought to maturity (1895), and Prejudged, a book intended for older readers which takes as its subject a love affair in a French pension (1900) (Sutherland 443).

Other works include (Allibone's 1129):

1. A Very Simple Story: Being a Chronicle of the Thoughts and Feelings of a Child. Ilust. Aleaford, 1867, p. 8vo.Anon.New ed., 1870.
2. Peggy and other Tales. London, 1868, p. 8vo; new eds, 1876, 1883.
3. The Children with the India-Rubber Ball: a Little Story for Children. Lon., 1872.
4. Thwarted; or Duck's Eggs in a Hen's Nest: a Story. London 1873.
5. Wild Mike and his Victim. London, 1875.
6. Herbert Manners, and other Tales. London, 1880.
7. The Blue Veil: a New Series of Moral Tales for Children. London, 1883
8. My Walk with God (Heart-Chords). London, 1883.
9. Transformed; or , Three Weeks in a Lifetime. London, 1886.
10. The Fisher's Daughter. London, 1888.

A Supplement to Allibone's Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors. Philadelphia: Childs & Peterson, 1891. 1129.

Sutherland, John. The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford, California, 1989. 443.

Other Sources:

New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. 5 vols. Ed. George Watson. Cambridge University Press, 1969 - 1977.

Who's Who. A.and C. Black.