Costello, Louisa Stuart (1799–1870)

views updated

Costello, Louisa Stuart (1799–1870)

Irish poet, novelist, travel writer, essayist, and miniature painter. Born Louisa Stuart Costello, 1799, in Ireland; died April 24, 1870, in Boulogne, France; dau. of Col. James Francis Costello, army officer, and Elizabeth Tothridge; sister of Dudley Costello (travel writer, died 1865); never married; no children.

One of the most popular writers of her day, especially known for her travel writing; moved to Paris following death of father (1814), where she supported mother and brother by painting miniatures; published 1st collection of poetry Maid of Cypress Isle (1815); moved to London (1820); came to prominence with Songs of a Stranger (1825); other writings include Specimens of the Early Poetry of France (1835), Falls, Lakes and Mountains of North Wales (1845), Tour To and From Venice, by the Vaudois and the Tyrol (1846), Memoirs of Anne, Duchess of Brittany (1855), and 4-vol. Memoirs of Eminent Englishwomen (1844); novels include The Queen's Poisoner, or, France in the Sixteenth Century (1841) and The Contrasts of Life (1848).

More From encyclopedia.com