Howitt, Mary

Abstract

Mary Botham Howitt (1799–1888), best known during her own lifetime as a poet or author of domestic fiction and children's tales, was also a prominent editor and translator who collaborated frequently with her husband and fellow Quaker, William Howitt (1792–1879), also a prolific author and publisher of the influential Howitt's Journal (1847–48). Both Howitts were committed to advancing radical causes of the day; Mary Howitt spoke out in support of property reform and suffrage for women in the 1850s and 1860s. Largely forgotten until feminist scholars directed attention to her navigation of the Victorian literary marketplace, Mary Howitt exemplifies the collaborative practices of many professional women of letters in the period.