Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Clive, Caroline
CLIVE, CAROLINE (1801–1873), authoress, was the second daughter and coheiress of Edmund Meysey-Wigley of Shakenhurst, Worcestershire, sometime M.P. for Worcester, and his wife, Anna Maria, the only surviving daughter of Charles Watkins Meysey. She was born at Brompton Grove, London, on 24 June 1801, and on 10 Nov. 1840 was married to the Rev. Archer Clive, the eldest surviving son of Edward Bolton Clive, for many years M.P. for Hereford. She died on 13 July 1873 from the result of an accident, which set fire to her dress while writing in her boudoir at Whitfield in Herefordshire, surrounded by her books and papers. She had for some years previously been a confirmed invalid. Mrs. Clive left two children Charles Meysey Bolton Clive, who succeeded to the Whitfield estate on the death of his father, and Alice, the wife of Lieutenant-colonel Wilberforce Greathed, V.C. Her husband, who was formerly rector of Solihull, Warwickshire, and afterwards chancellor and prebendary of Hereford Cathedral, survived her some years, and died on 17 Sept. 1878.
Her reputation as an authoress now mainly rests upon ‘Paul Ferroll,’ a sensational novel of great power and considerable imagination. She published the following works: 1. ‘IX Poems by V.,’ London, 1840, 8vo. These poems attracted a good deal of notice at the time, and were most favourably reviewed in the ‘Quarterly’ (lxvi. 408–11). A second edition, including nine other poems, was published in 1841. 2. ‘I watched the Heavens: a poem, by V.,’ London, 1842, 8vo. The volume contains only the first canto of this poem, which appears to have never been completed. 3. ‘The Queen's Ball, a poem, by V.,’ London, 1847, 16mo. 4. ‘The Valley of the Rea, a poem, by V.,’ London, 1851, 8vo. 5. ‘The Morlas, a poem, by V.,’ London, 1853, 8vo. 6. ‘Paul Ferroll, a Tale, by the author of “IX Poems by V.,”’ London, 1855, 8vo. This novel has passed through a number of editions, and has been translated into French by Madame H. Loreau. In the fourth edition a concluding chapter was added bringing the story down to the death of Paul Ferroll. 7. ‘Poems by the author of “Paul Ferroll,” including a new edition of “IX Poems by V.” with former and recent additions,’ London, 1856, 8vo. In this collection the last of the ‘IX Poems’ is omitted, and only four of the additional poems contained in the second edition of 1841 are included. In addition to the above-mentioned poems, numbered 3, 4, and 5 respectively, eight other pieces, not printed in the previous editions, are given. 8. ‘Year after Year, by the author of “Paul Ferroll” and “IX Poems,”’ London, 1858, 12mo. Two editions were published of this book. 9. ‘Why Paul Ferroll killed his Wife, by the author of “Paul Ferroll,”’ London, 1860, 12mo. Though the names of the characters are different, the object of this novel is to explain the opening chapter of ‘Paul Ferroll.’ It is not, however, at all equal in power to its predecessor. It has passed through several editions. 10. ‘John Greswold, by the author of “Paul Ferroll,” &c. &c.,’ in 2 vols., London, 1864, 8vo. 11. ‘Poems by V., author of “Paul Ferroll,” including the “IX Poems,”’ London, 1872, 8vo. In this collection the last of the ‘IX Poems’ is again omitted, and twelve additional poems are given besides others which appeared in former editions. It is not, however, by any means a complete collection of her poems.
[Men of the Time, 8th ed. 1872, 278; Annual Register, 1873, pt. ii. p. 142; Gent. Mag. 1801, vol. lxxi. pt. ii. p. 671, 1841 (new ser.), xv. 90; Times, 16 July 1873; Athenæum, 19 July 1873; Grazebrook's Heraldry of Worcestershire (1873), pp. 374, 624; Brit. Mus. Cat.]