Julia Frankau, née Julia Davis, was a successful novelist under the name of Frank Danby. She was the sister of Owen Hall, Harrie Davis (1857–1920) and Eliza Davis. She was home-schooled by Laura Lafargue, the daughter of Karl Marx. She married the poet Arthur Frankau. With him, she became the mother of the author Gilbert Frankau and the actor Ronald Frankau. She is thus grandparent of Pamela Frankau. During the 1890s, she focused on engraving and wrote about this topic. She returned to writing fiction in 1902.