Selina Bunbury

Selina Bunbury
Born1802
Castlebellingham, County Louth
Died1882
Cheltenham
OccupationWriter

Selina Bunbury (1802–1882) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and traveler.

Early life

Selina Bunbury was born at Kilsaran Rectory near Castlebellingham, County Louth.[1][2] She was a twin, and one of fifteen children of a Protestant minister, Rev. Henry Bunbury.[3][4] The Bunbury family moved to Dublin in 1819, and to Liverpool about 1830.[5]

Career

Bunbury was a prolific author,[1] writing nearly a hundred volumes of both fiction and non-fiction, for young readers and a general audience, beginning with Visit to my Birthplace (1821).[6] Her writing had "a strong proselytizing and moral component".[4] "Miss Bunbury is an experienced, an observant, and a discriminating traveller," commented an 1853 reviewer, "with but one fault we can discover — a violent Tractarian tinge, which, however, does not render her book less amusing."[7]

Bunberry traveled from Stockholm to Rome in 1847 and 1848, becoming a first-hand witness to revolution and upheaval in several parts of Europe.[8] Her travel writing included My Early Adventures During the Peninsular Campaign of Napoleon (1834),[9] Evenings in the Pyrenees (1845),[10] A visit to the catacombs, or first Christian cemeteries of Rome, and a midnight visit to mount Vesuvius (1849),[11] Evelyn, or, A journey from Stockholm to Rome in 1847-48 (1849),[12] Life in Sweden (1853),[13] A Summer in Northern Europe (1856),[14] Russia After the War (1857)[15] and My First Travels (1859).[16]

Some of her books continued to be published long after her death in 1882, including American editions of Fanny, the flower girl, or Honesty rewarded (1911).[17]

Personal life

Bunbury kept house for her twin brother until he married in 1845.[5] She died in 1882 at her nephew's home in Cheltenham, aged 80 years.[1][8]

Selected works

  • A Visit to My Birthplace (1821)[6]
  • Cabin Conversations and Castle Scenes (1827)[3]
  • My Foster Brother (1827)[3]
  • Stories from Church History (1828)[18]
  • Annot and her Pupil (1829)[19]
  • Gertrude and her family (1830)[20]
  • My Early Adventures During the Peninsular Campaign of Napoleon (1834)[9]
  • The Abbey of Innesmoyle: A Story of Another Century (1839)[21]
  • Coombe Abbey: An Historical Tale of the Reign of James the First (1843)[22]
  • The Star of the Court, Or, the Maid of Honour and Queen of England, Anne Boleyn (1844)[23]
  • The castle and the hovel: or, The two sceptics (1844)[24]
  • Evenings in the Pyrenees (1845)[10]
  • The Indian Babes in the Wood, taken from fact (1845)[25]
  • Glory, Glory, Glory and other narratives (1847)[26]
  • Evelyn, or, A journey from Stockholm to Rome in 1847-48 (1849)[12]
  • The blind clergyman, and his little guide (1850)[27]
  • The brother's sacrifice; A French story (1851)[28]
  • Life in Sweden (1853)[13]
  • Our Own Story (1856)[29]
  • A Summer in Northern Europe (1856)[14]
  • Russia After the War (1857)[15]
  • Sir Guy d'Esterre (1858)[30]
  • My First Travels (1859)[16]
  • Madame Constance (1861)[31]
  • The violet-seller, or, Honesty and industry (1861)[32]
  • Tales (1862)[33]
  • Florence Manvers (1865)[34]
  • Lady Flora (1870)[31]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Selina Bunbury". Orlando Project. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Irish Fiction". The Irish Monthly. 44 (517): 474–476. 1916. ISSN 2009-2113. JSTOR 20504638.
  3. ^ a b c "Selina Bunbury (1802-82)". Ricorso. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b Hansson, Heidi (2011), "Selina Bunbury, Religion, and the Woman Writer", in Murphy, James H. (ed.), The Oxford History of the Irish Book, vol. IV, Oxford University Press, pp. 322–330, doi:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780198187318.003.0025, ISBN 978-0-19-818731-8
  5. ^ a b Sutherland, John (1990). The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8047-1842-4.
  6. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1828). Visit to my birth-place / by the author of The Pastor's tales, &c. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Boston, Mass. : J. Loring's Sabbath School Book-Store.
  7. ^ "Life in Sweden (review)". The Standard. 16 July 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 11 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Hansson, Heidi (2008). "Selina Bunbury, the Pope, and the Question of Location". In Coughlan, Patricia; O'Toole, Tina (eds.). Irish Literature: Feminist Perspectives. Peter Lang. pp. 59–78. ISBN 978-1-904505-35-8.
  9. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1834). My early adventure during the peninsular campaigns of Napoleon. The Library of Congress. Boston, J. Loring.
  10. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1845). Evenings in the Pyrenées: comprising the stories of wanderers from many lands. London: J. Masters.
  11. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1849). A visit to the catacombs, or first Christian cemeteries of Rome, and a midnight visit to mount Vesuvius. London.
  12. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1849). Evelyn, or, A journey from Stockholm to Rome in 1847-48. University of California Libraries. London : R. Bentley.
  13. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1853). Life in Sweden; with excursions in Norway and Denmark. Hurst and Blackett.
  14. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1856). A summer in Northern Europe, including sketches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Aland Islands, Gothland, &c. New York Public Library. London, Hurst and Blackett.
  15. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1857). Russia after the war : the narrative of a visit to that country in 1856. London : Hurst and Blackett.
  16. ^ a b Bunbury, Selina (1859). My first travels : including rides in the Pyrenees, scenes during an inundation at Avignon, sketches in France and Savoy, visits to convents and houses of charity, &c., &c. Harvard University. London : T. Cautley Newby.
  17. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1911). Fanny, the flower girl, or Honesty rewarded : to which are added other tales. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Information and Library Science Library. New York : Hurst & Co.
  18. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1828). Stories from Church history, from the introduction of Christianity, to the sixteenth century, by the author of 'Early recollections'.
  19. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1829). Annot and her pupil: a simple story. Boston: Peirce and Williams.
  20. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1830). Gertrude and her family. By the author of "A visit to my birth-place" [i.e. S. Bunbury], etc. Richard Moore Tims.
  21. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1839). The Abbey of Innismoyle: a story of another century. Dublin: W. Curry.
  22. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1844). Coombe Abbey : an historical tale of the reign of James the First. University of California Libraries. Dublin : W. Curry.
  23. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1844). The Star of the Court, Or, the Maid of Honour and Queen of England, Anne Boleyn. Grant.
  24. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1844). The castle and the hovel: or, The two sceptics. B. Wertheim, Aldine Chambers.
  25. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1991). The Indian babes in the wood. Taken from fact : By Miss Selina Bunbury. London : B. Wertheim, Aldine Chambers, Paternoster Row.
  26. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1847). Glory, Glory, Glory and Other Narratives. R. Carter.
  27. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1991). The blind clergyman, and his little guide : By Selina Bunbury. London : Wertheim and Macintosh, 24, Paternoster Row.
  28. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1991). The brother's sacrifice. A French story : By Miss Selina Bunbury. A new edition. London : J. Masters, 33, Aldersgate Street, and 78, New Bond Street.
  29. ^ "Our Own Story by Selina Bunbury (review)". The Caledonian Mercury. 3 March 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 11 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1858). Sir Guy d'Esterre. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. London : G. Routledge & Co.
  31. ^ a b "Author Information: Selina Bunbury". At the Circulating Library. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  32. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1861). The violet-seller, or, Honesty and industry. New York General Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union and Church Book Society.
  33. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1991). Tales: the recovered estate. The blind curate's child : Christmas eve in the forests of Sweden. By Selina Bunbury. London : Rivingtons, Waterloo Place. Oxford: W.R. Bowden, 35, Holywell- Street, Oxford.
  34. ^ Bunbury, Selina (1991). Florence Manvers. In three volumes : By Selina Bunbury. London : T. Cautley Newby, Publisher, 30, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square.