Mary De Morgan: a writer, just like us
Marilyn Pemberton • 30 October 2020
She was misunderstood, underpaid and overshadowed.
When I was researching Victorian fairy-tale writers for my PhD I “discovered” Mary De Morgan. Just like many of us in NAWG, she was misunderstood, underpaid and overshadowed.
Mary was the youngest of seven children, born in 1850 into a family of intellectuals and non-conformists. She moved in William Morris’s artistic and political circle. Mary is best known today as a writer of fairy-tales but she also wrote short stories, some of which were published, others are gathering dust in Senate House Library. Mary also tried her hand at a two-volume novel called A Choice of Chance but the disappointment of poor reviews caused her to abandon attempting another. She also edited her mother’s reminiscences, Threescore Years and Ten: Reminiscences of the Late Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan” and wrote serious articles on such diverse subjects as “Co-operation in England in 1889,” “The New Trades-Unionism and Socialism in England,” “The Jewish Immigrant in East London,” and “The Education of Englishmen.”
It does not seem likely that Mary made sufficient money from her writing alone. In 1876 she received £14 18s 6d, being a third of the year’s profit from the sale of her first volume of fairy tales, On a Pincushion – another third going to the illustrator and the other third to the publishers.
Mary was a member of the Women’s Franchise League and she signed the Declaration in Favour of Women’s Suffrage. She was an independent woman who had very strong views on the society in which she lived and the place of the woman within it. She could have written political articles, spoken at rallies and waved flags, but she chose instead to make her voice heard and her opinions known through her writing.
Mary was the youngest of seven children, born in 1850 into a family of intellectuals and non-conformists. She moved in William Morris’s artistic and political circle. Mary is best known today as a writer of fairy-tales but she also wrote short stories, some of which were published, others are gathering dust in Senate House Library. Mary also tried her hand at a two-volume novel called A Choice of Chance but the disappointment of poor reviews caused her to abandon attempting another. She also edited her mother’s reminiscences, Threescore Years and Ten: Reminiscences of the Late Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan” and wrote serious articles on such diverse subjects as “Co-operation in England in 1889,” “The New Trades-Unionism and Socialism in England,” “The Jewish Immigrant in East London,” and “The Education of Englishmen.”
It does not seem likely that Mary made sufficient money from her writing alone. In 1876 she received £14 18s 6d, being a third of the year’s profit from the sale of her first volume of fairy tales, On a Pincushion – another third going to the illustrator and the other third to the publishers.
Mary was a member of the Women’s Franchise League and she signed the Declaration in Favour of Women’s Suffrage. She was an independent woman who had very strong views on the society in which she lived and the place of the woman within it. She could have written political articles, spoken at rallies and waved flags, but she chose instead to make her voice heard and her opinions known through her writing.
At the beginning of the new century she went to live in Egypt where she became a directress of a girls’ reformatory. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 57 and is buried in Cairo. There is no photograph of Mary that can be 100% authenticated, so all we have are her words to know her by.
I have written her biography: Out of the Shadows: The Life and Works of Mary De Morgan,
which can be purchased at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Shadows-Life-Works-Morgan/dp/1443841951
I have also written a novel based on her life and filled in the gaps of my knowledge with my imagination: The Jewel Garden can be purchased at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jewel-Garden-Marilyn-Pemberton-ebook/dp/B079ZY877T
e-mail: marilyn.pemberton@yahoo.co.uk
Website: https://marilynpemberton.wixsite.com/author
Blog - writingtokeepsane.wordpress.com
I have also written a novel based on her life and filled in the gaps of my knowledge with my imagination: The Jewel Garden can be purchased at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jewel-Garden-Marilyn-Pemberton-ebook/dp/B079ZY877T
e-mail: marilyn.pemberton@yahoo.co.uk
Website: https://marilynpemberton.wixsite.com/author
Blog - writingtokeepsane.wordpress.com
Here are the results of the Valentine's Day flash fiction competition. Meet Me Under the Clock by Amelia Alice. Untitled by Margaret McKay. Judged by Jude Davison judedavison.co.uk Jude is a composer, author, musician and recording artist. He has written and produced 21 albums of varied musical styles and genres with songs that include Americana, rock, pop, country, soul, gospel, blues, mariachi, Dixieland, and even a trilogy of spoken word/music albums. His songs have been licensed to numerous TV shows – Baywatch , Cold Squad and feature films – Return to Turtle Island , The Raffle (with the soundtrack album featuring Elton John and Dan Hill), and his first single, Lifeline , reached no. 25 in the USA adult contemporary charts. In 2015 Jude turned his attention toward writing prose. He has now published six books – three novels ( Cybersoul , The Underwater Birds , A Writer's Prerogative ), two collections of short stories ( Cripples and Creeps , Small Cruelties ) and a musical memoir ( Uncertain Heaven ). "So the winning entry is Meet me under the clock. It had an interesting use of setting – what was imagined (film version) and then what was real. Also the idea of love, while not being 'picture' perfect but enough, was good. Perhaps I would place Helen's oldest friend... as runner up. Again, the theme of love being something more ordinary and not so 'picture perfect' as we like to imagine it, was good". First Prize This winning entry will also be published in our 2025 anthology and, at the discretion of our editor, in Link magazine . Meet Me Under the Clock by Amelia Alice Standing under the 'Lovers' Clock' at Waterloo Station holding a bunch of long-stemmed red roses to ask Shona to marry him had always been in Barry's mind since he saw the 1945 classic film Brief Encounter, last Christmas at his Nan's house. Today, Barry held the wrapped roses, as if he were swaddling a baby. His heartbeat rushed, keeping time with the outgoing 10:02 to Chester. Looking around him, the platform was vacant apart from a few pigeons pecking randomly at the asphalt. He looked at his watch. There was no clock here. This was Crewe. Had he made a mistake? He noted the peeling paint on the Victorian iron rafters, showing coloured layers of times gone by. Smoggy debris, cluttered with leaves, clogs the corners of the ornate glass panels above the tracks. He sighed. It didn't match his vision of the perfect romantic meeting place. Too late. The approaching Pendolino 390 from Manchester Piccadilly slowed to a stop. His eyes scanned the seats as they passed. He couldn't see her. Then. 'Hi Barry,' she said with a smile. Her pale porcelain skin was so perfect in the diffused light. 'For you,' he held the roses forward with pride. 'Sorry, it's not like the film,' he nodded towards the station. 'Which film?' Her eyes scrunched as her head tilted to one side. 'It doesn't matter,' he laughed, 'Who needs a clock? You look beautiful.' Reaching for Shona's hand, he breathed out slowly, knowing everything was going to be okay. Runner Up Untitled by Margaret McKay Helen's oldest friend had talked of the elation of falling in love when she had met her second husband. She had felt smug that her own marriage had lasted for so long, but this chance remark had preyed on her mind, today more than ever. Today, she had met a man who had made her heart leap, her legs turn to jelly. She had enjoyed the sensation. After fifty years she couldn't remember having that feeling, ever. In 1976, marriage was the next step after dating for a year or two. This word 'love' was showered over you both with the confetti on your wedding day. The reality was sex whenever it suited, in honesty often the sweeter in previous stolen moments. The thought of her children and grandchildren made her heart swell, but George was only in the background of her mind. He'd always provided for the family, been a good father, never forgotten her birthday. Should that be enough? When had they last watched television together? Gone out for a meal? Had a fight or even an argument? Could she face the next, possibly twenty years lived in this equilibrium? Today the fascinating man who had shared her table in the café had set her thoughts into chaos. When they'd exchanged phone numbers, she'd felt the forgotten thrill of something illicit. Looking at the family photos around her home, she pressed 'delete' and smiled fondly at the kind face always in the background, providing quiet, perfect equilibrium.
The Write Path 2025 anthology is now available in paperback from Amazon, and ebook format from many digital book platforms (including Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, Thalia, Smashwords, and many more!). It comprises the winning entries and judges’ reports from our members’-only competitions, along with the first, second, and third place winners of our open poetry and short story competitions, and the winners of our 250-word Spooky flash fiction competition. The ebook version (ISBN: 978-1-7384361-8-7) is priced £2.99, and the paperback version (ISBN: 978-1-7384361-7-0) is £7.99. For more information, click the Books2Read link and then select your preferred retailer: https://books2read.com/twp2025 And if you missed any of the previous anthologies, check out the links below: 2024: https://books2read.com/twp2024 2023: https://books2read.com/twp2023 2022: https://books2read.com/twp2022 2021: https://books2read.com/twp2021 2020: https://books2read.com/twp2020 2019: https://books2read.com/twp2019 My thanks go to everyone on the committee and the judges for their help with gathering everything together to enable me to produce the anthology, and to Liz for her proofreading assistance! Simon Whaley
New 250-word flash fiction competition theme of LOVE - Now CLOSED and judging taking place
