Couvreur, Jessie (1848–1897)

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Couvreur, Jessie (1848–1897)

Australian novelist. Name variations: (pseudonym) Tasma. Born Jessie Huybers in Highgate, England, 1848; died 1897; m. Charles Fraser (also seen as Frazer, a gambler), 1867 (div. 1883); m. Auguste Couvreur (member of Belgian Parliament, 1864–84, died 1894).

Moved to Tasmania with family (1850s); after 2nd marriage, settled in Brussels and succeeded husband as Brussels correspondent for The Times; lectured in France and Belgium and was active in political circles; novels, which often focus on women in unhappy marriages, include Uncle Piper of Piper's Hill (1889), In Her Earliest Youth (1890), The Penance of Portia James (1891), A Knight of the White Feather (1892), Not Counting the Cost (1895) and A Fiery Ordeal (1897); also published A Sydney Sovereign and Other Tales (1890) and Incidents and Scenes in Melbourne Life (1892).