Emma Lucy Dickson (née Wells; 1854–1926) was a Canadian writer who had one novel published under the name Stanford Eleveth.
Emma Lucy Dickson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emma Lucy Wells 21 November 1854 Nova Scotia |
| Died | 1926 Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse | William Dickson |
Life edit
Born on 21 November 1854 in Nova Scotia (possibly Truro), she appears to have spent some of her childhood in Maine and Prince Edward Island.[1] Having returned to Nova Scotia after receiving a common school education, in 1882 she married William Dickson, a pattern maker.[1]
Novel edit
In 1895 the Toronto publisher William Briggs released Miss Dexie, a Romance of the Provinces, attributed to Stanford Eleveth but in fact authored by Dickson.[1][2] The novel was set in areas familiar to Dickson: Halifax, Maine, and Prince Edward Island, and tells the story of the imaginary Miss Dexie (short for Dexter).[1] Gwendolyn Davies, writing in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, notes similarities with Little Women including the strong-minded female protagonist's androgynous name, the timeframe, an abandoned romance, and the focus on familial support.[1] Dickson incorporated recent developments, such as train travel and modern Victorian kitchens, and local details such as a vivid description of a McDonaldite worship service on Prince Edward Island.[1]
The novel was well received, being reviewed in Toronto's Saturday Night, The Week, and Christian Guardian, the Portland Transcript, the Orillia Packet, and the Halifax Herald.[1] The publisher produced three editions in the first year and continued to issue printings until 1907.[1] Dickson may have also produced some children's books, but she never wrote another novel and largely disappeared from the literary scene after the 1890s.[1]
Deaths edit
Dickson had a daughter who died in childhood in 1897.[1] Her husband died in 1923 and Dickson in 1926, in Halifax.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Davies, Gwendolyn (2005). "Wells, Emma Lucy (Dickson)". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ O'Hagan, Thomas (1901). Canadian Essays, Critical and Historical. W. Briggs. pp. 73–74.
External links edit
- Miss Dexie on Project Gutenberg