Elizabeth Strickland 1794 – 1875
Biographical historian.
17 November 1794 – 30 April 1875
Education
Educated with her sister Agnes by her father who ‘believed that girls should be educated upon the same plan as boys because … it strengthened the female mind’ (Pope-Hennessy, 5l learned mathematics and Latin).
Some Key Achievements and Interests
Edited the Court Magazine to which she contributed biographies of female sovereigns.
1840-1848 Co-authored with her sister Agnes the 12 volume Lives of the Queens of England.
Lives of the Queens of Scotland and English Princesses Connected with the Regal Succession of Great Britain, in 8 vols. (1850-59) published by William Blackwood, followed in 1861 by Lives of the Bachelor Kings of England.
She and Elizabeth together wrote Lives of the Seven Bishops (1866) and Lives of the Tudor Princesses (1868).
Meanwhile Elizabeth Strickland had considerably advanced her career: a contact with Lady Morgan had led to employment by the publisher Henry Colburn, founder and financier of several periodicals including the New Monthly Magazine and The Athenaeum. By 1830 she had become editor of the Court Journal, which covered court and society news, fashion, cultural events, racing, and other similar events.
Writings/Publications include
1833 Historical Tales of Illustrious British Children (with Agnes).
wrote contributions for:
1840-48 Lives of the Queens of England (contributing 12 biographies, Agnes 7).
1851-59 Lives of the Queens of Scotland and English Princesses Connected with the Regal Succession of Great Britain (8 vols).
1866 Lives of the Seven Bishops Committed to the Tower in 1688.
1868 Lives of the Tudor Princesses, Including Lady Jane Gray and Her Sisters.
Issues
Wrote to earn a living to support herself though her and Agnes’s publications did not bring the sisters a great income.
Did not want a public profile so asked Agnes to be responsible for communications and being named as the author of their publications. However, she handled financial transactions more successfully than Agnes.
Avoided the social networking her sister Agnes did to make contacts.
Connection to Bloomsbury
Stayed in the Bloomsbury area (Bedford Square) and researched and worked in the British Museum Reading Room being instructed in palaeography by staff.
Further reading
Strickland, Agnes (1796–1874), historian | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (oxforddnb.com)