Emma Jane Guyton
Encyclopedia
Emma Jane Guyton or Worboise (1825-1887), was an English novelist and editor.
Guyton was born Emma Jane Worboys in Birmingham
on 20 April 1825 to George Baddeley Worboys (1803?–1867), a gunsmith, and his wife, Maria Lane (b. 1807?, d. after 1887). She was a lifelong Congregationalist
. She attended boarding school and may have worked as a governess. Her first book, published under the name Worboise, was Alice Cunningham (1846). It was followed by about fifty other novels with a Christian message, which were very popular in their time. She greatly admired Dr Thomas Arnold
, the educational reformer and headmaster of Rugby School
, whose life she published in 1859. She began to write for the newspaper Christian World in 1857. She edited the monthly Christian World Magazine and Family Visitor from 1866 to 1885, and many of her novels were serialized there. Though she described herself late in life as the widow of a Mr Etherington Guyton, a Baptist minister of French descent, no evidence for the existence of such a person has been found. She began to suffer from alcoholism
, which brought about her death on 25 August 1887 at Clevedon
, Somerset
.
Guyton was born Emma Jane Worboys in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on 20 April 1825 to George Baddeley Worboys (1803?–1867), a gunsmith, and his wife, Maria Lane (b. 1807?, d. after 1887). She was a lifelong Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
. She attended boarding school and may have worked as a governess. Her first book, published under the name Worboise, was Alice Cunningham (1846). It was followed by about fifty other novels with a Christian message, which were very popular in their time. She greatly admired Dr Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold
Dr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
, the educational reformer and headmaster of Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, whose life she published in 1859. She began to write for the newspaper Christian World in 1857. She edited the monthly Christian World Magazine and Family Visitor from 1866 to 1885, and many of her novels were serialized there. Though she described herself late in life as the widow of a Mr Etherington Guyton, a Baptist minister of French descent, no evidence for the existence of such a person has been found. She began to suffer from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, which brought about her death on 25 August 1887 at Clevedon
Clevedon
Clevedon is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.