The New Student's Reference Work/Mitford, Mary Russell

Mitford, Mary Russell, an English writer, was born in Hampshire, England, Dec. 16, 1787. On her tenth birthday her father bought her a lottery ticket, which drew a prize of $100,000. This money was extravagantly spent, lasting only long enough to give her a good education. She had to write to support the family, and wrote for magazines, and plays for the stage, having earlier published a volume of poems. Her best work was the sketches she wrote of the life around her, which appeared first in the London Magazine and were collected in five volumes under the title of Our Village. She also published Recollections of a Literary Life and Atherton, a story, but her fame depends upon the charming sketches. She received a pension from the government, which made her comfortable in her cottage, where she spent the remainder of her life, the center of a large circle of literary friends. She died on Jan. 10, 1855. See Life and Friendships of Mary Russell Mitford by L'Estrange.