Steel, Flora Annie Webster, 1847-1929

Variant names

Hide Profile

English novelist.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Bromsgrove, to Isabel, [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270670067

Flora Annie Steel (1847-1929) was a British novelist and short story writer. Although she received very little formal education, she was allowed free run of her parents' library and was known for her strong personality and boundless energy. She married government official Henry Steel in 1867 at the age of twenty, and they left for India within twenty-four hours of the ceremony. Steel spent the next twenty-two years as a tireless organizer of community enterprises wherever she and her husband were posted. She immersed herself in the lives of the local population, learned the local language and displayed a genuine if somewhat paternalistic interest in the lives of the people of India, especially the women. Steel began writing short stories reflecting her experiences and collecting Indian folk tales toward the end of her time in India, though only one book, Wide Awake Stories (1884), was published before she left in 1889. She enjoyed a long friendship and business association with the publisher William Heinemann, wrote copiously and was well-received by the British public. At least half of her numerous novels and short stories were concerned with Indian or Anglo-Indian life.

From the description of Flora Annie Steel manuscript. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 429908586

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Records of the Writers' Club, c.1891-1900 The Women' s Library
creatorOf Field, William B. Osgood,. William B. Osgood Field collection of drawings for book illustrations, 1844-1925. Houghton Library
referencedIn Colles, William Morris, 1855-1926. William Morris Colles papers, 1888-1928. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Steel, Flora Annie Webster, 1847-1929. Flora Annie Steel manuscript. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, UNCG University Libraries
referencedIn Susan Groag Bell's, An Annotated bibliography of British Women's autobiographies, 1790-1950 :, research and reference materials, 1986-1998 Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
creatorOf Steel, Flora Annie Webster, 1847-1929. Letter to William Colles. [London]. [ca. 1919 Apr. 22]. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Smith, E. H.,. Collection, 1888-1934 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Steel, Flora Annie, 1847-1929. Autograph letter signed : Bromsgrove, to Isabel, [n.d.]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn William Morris Colles Papers, 1888-1928. Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bell, Susan G. person
associatedWith Bell, Susan Groag person
associatedWith Colles, William, person
associatedWith Colles, William Morris, 1855-1926. person
associatedWith Field, William B. Osgood, person
associatedWith Mary Flagler Cary Music Collection (Pierpont Morgan Library) corporateBody
associatedWith Smith, E. H., person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Women authors, English
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1847-04-02

Death 1929-04-12

Britons

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cv5c8w

Ark ID: w6cv5c8w

SNAC ID: 71155943