Mitford, Mary Russell

Mary Russell (1787-1855), an English writer. She was a native of Hampshire. Her mother died when she was a child. Her father was a spendthrift. He spent a fortune and became dependent on his daughter. She was very proud of his social qualities and sprightliness. At the age of ten she won a $100,000 prize in a lottery. Her scapegrace father spent it. She rented a small cottage and labored with her pen to keep up appearances. She wrote a number of books once popular but now forgotten. Her reputation as a writer rests on Sketches of English Rural Life. They appeared first as a serial in The Lady's Magazine. They were afterwards published in a volume under the name of Our Village. In these sketches her style is thought to resemble that of Irving. She is considered a forerunner of this kind of writing, now so popular.