Mary Augusta Ward Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-MS-ms123

Staff Only

The Mary Augusta Ward Papers consists primarily of autograph, typescript, and galley proof versions of novels by Mrs. Humphry Ward. Included are The History of David Grieve [1892], The Mating of Lydia [1913], and Delia Blanchflower [1915]. Also included are three folders of miscellaneous notes and anecdotes. A folder of correspondence contains three pieces of personal correspondence and drafts of two letters, written by Mrs. Humphry Ward to unidentified correspondents, one [circa 1910] concerning the National Union of Women Workers Great Britain], and another [undated], incomplete, concerning the question of Irish independence.

Dates

Creation: 1892-1915

Creator

Ward, Humphry, Mrs., 1851-1920 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open

Conditions Governing Use

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

4.00 boxes

Additional Description

Biographical or Historical Information

Mary Augusta Arnold Ward (June, 11 1851 –March 24, 1920) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs. Humphry Ward. Born in Tasmania, Australia, Ward returned with her family to England at the age of five. She was educated at various boarding schools and began her career writing articles for Macmillan's Magazine while working on a book for children that was published in 1881 under the title Milly and Olly. This was followed in 1884 by a more ambitious study of modern life, Miss Bretherton, the story of an actress. Ward's novels contained strong religious subject matter relevant to Victorian values she herself practiced. Her popularity spread beyond Great Britain to the United States. Her book Lady Rose's Daughter was the best-selling novel in the United States in 1903, as was The Marriage of William Ashe in 1905.

Ward also worked and taught among the poor in the residential settlement now known as the Mary Ward Centre. This continues as an adult education college. She was also a significant campaigner against women getting the vote, serving as the founding president of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League. Ward took on the job, creating and editing the Anti-Suffrage Review. She published a large number of articles on the subject, while two of her novels, The Testing of Diana Mallory and Delia Blanchflower, were used as platforms to criticize the suffragettes. During World War I, Ward was asked by former United States President Theodore Roosevelt to write a series of articles to explain to Americans what was happening in Britain. Her work involved visiting the trenches on the Western Front, and resulted in three books, England's Effort - Six Letters to an American Friend (1916), Towards the Goal (1917), and Fields of Victory (1919).