Robert Elsmere
1888
First Published
4.01
Average Rating
614
Number of Pages
Robert Elsmere was the most successful novel of its age. Published in 1888, it tells movingly of a young clergyman whose loss of faith puts a great strain on his marriage to a staunchly evangelical wife. Tolstoy thought Mrs. Ward the greatest English novelist of her time.
Avg Rating
4.01
Number of Ratings
84
5 STARS
44%
4 STARS
30%
3 STARS
15%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
6%
goodreads
Author
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Author · 13 books
Mary Augusta Ward CBE (nee Arnold) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs. Humphry Ward. Mary Augusta Arnold was born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, into a prominent intellectual family of writers and educationalists. Mary was the daughter of Tom Arnold, a professor of literature, and Julia Sorrell. Her uncle was the poet Matthew Arnold and her grandfather Thomas Arnold, the famous headmaster of Rugby School. Her sister Julia married Leonard Huxley, the son of Thomas Huxley, and their sons were Julian and Aldous Huxley. The Arnolds and the Huxleys were an important influence on British intellectual life.Mary's father Tom Arnold was appointed inspector of schools in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and commenced his role on 15 January 1850. Tom Arnold was received into the Roman Catholic Church on 12 January 1856, which made him so unpopular in his job (and with his wife) that he resigned and left for England with his family in July 1856. Mary Arnold had her fifth birthday the month before they left, and had no further connection with Tasmania. Tom Arnold was ratified as chair of English literature at the contemplated Catholic university, Dublin, after some delay. Mary Augusta Ward died in London, England, and was interred at Aldbury in Hertfordshire, near her beloved country home Stocks.
