Harriet Parr

PARR, Harriet. b. York, England, 31 January 1828; d. Shanklin, Isle of Wight, 18 February 1900. She was one of six children born to William Parr (nda) and Mary Grandage (d. ca 1863). Her father, a travelling salesman in silks and other fabrics, died when she was a child, leaving the family very poor. She was educated at local schools in York, and worked as a servant in a boarding school in exchange for some education. She later became a governess. At the age of 26 she became a writer of fiction, under the name of ‘Holme Lee’, beginning with Maud Talbot (1854), and producing one, and sometimes two, books almost every year until 1883. The success of these books enabled her to move to...