Charlotte Riddell aka Mrs J.H. Riddell (30 September 1832 – 24 September 1906) was a one of the most popular and influential writers of the Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 period. The author of 56 books, novels and short stories, she was also part owner and editor of the St. James's Magazine, one of the most prestigious literary magazines of the 1860s.

Biography

Born Charlotte Eliza Lawson Cowan in Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...

, County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 on 30 September 1832, Riddell was the youngest daughter of James Cowan, of Carrickfergus, High Sheriff for the county of Antrim and Ellen Kilshaw of Liverpool, England.

In the winter of 1855, four years after her father's death, she and her mother moved to London. Charlotte was visited by death again the following year when her mother died. In 1857 she married Joseph Hadley Riddell, a civil engineer, originally from Staffordshire, but resident in London. It is known that they moved to live in St John's Lodge between Harringay

Harringay

Harringay is a residential area of North London, part of the London Borough of Haringey, United Kingdom. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the northern boundary of Finsbury Park up to the southern boundary of Duckett's Common, not far from Turnpike Lane.-Location:The...

 and West Green

West Green

West Green may refer to:* West Green, West Sussex, England* West Green, Hampshire, England* West Green, London, England* West Green, Georgia, United States...

 in the mid 1860s, moving out in 1873 as the area was being built up.

Her husband died in 1880. Charlotte lived a lonely life thereafter until she died from cancer in Ashford, Kent, England on 24 September 1906.

Novels

• The Haunted House at Latchford (aka Fairy Water) (1872)
• The Uninhabited House (1875)
• The Haunted River (1877)
• The Disappearance of Jeremiah Redworth (1878)
• The Nun's Curse (1888)
• Maxwell Drewitt (1879)
• The Earl’s Promise (1873)

Collections

• Frank Sinclair's Wife: And Other Stories (1874)
• Weird Stories (1882)
• Idle Tales (1887)
• Princess Sunshine: And Other Stories (1889)
• Handsome Phil: And Other Stories (1899)
• The Collected Ghost Stories of Mrs J H Riddell (1977)

Anthologies containing stories by Mrs J H Riddell

• The 7th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1971)
• Victorian Tales of Terror (1972)
• The Penguin Book of Classic Fantasy by Women (1977)
• Gaslit Nightmares (1988)
• 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories (1992)
• The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2000)

Short stories

• Banshee's Warning (1867)
• A Strange Christmas Game (1868)
• Forewarned, Forearmed (1874)
• Hertford O'Donnell's Warning (1874)
• Nut Bush Farm (1882)
• The Old House in Vauxhall Walk (1882)
• Old Mrs Jones (1882)
• The Open Door (1882)
• Sandy the Tinker (1882)
• Walnut-Tree House (1882)
• The Last of Squire Ennismore (1888)
• A Terrible Vengeance (1889)
• Why Dr Cray Left Southam (1889)
• Conn Kilrea (1899)
• The Rusty Sword (1893)
• Diarmid Chittock's Story (1899)
• Handsome Phil (1899)

External links

• charlotteriddell.co.uk - impressively comprehensive source of information on the authour.
• The Literary Gothic (plain text and HTML)
• Works by or about Mrs. J. H. Riddell at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  (scanned books original editions color illustrated)