Best known work

• East Lynne, 1861

Genres

• Fiction - Novels
• Fiction - Short Stories
• Poetry
• Travel Writing / Translation

Nom de plume

Ellen Price, Mrs Henry Wood

Social class

Middle class

Parental background

Her father was a glove maker.

At publication of best known work

• Age: 47
• Marital status: Married
• Number of children: 4

Physical description

A correspondent named Olivia, presumably a neighbour, describes her in "Occasional Sketches by Various Writers": "As she is in person, so she is in her picture - a petite, mild, unassuming, modest, intelligent woman. A full, intellectual and rather sanguine eye; a firm, determined little mouth; and a face intellectually handsome, and in no wise deteriorated by a few grey curls falling naturally on her shoulders. She is not thin, like Miss Evans; nor fat, like her powerful contemporary, Miss Braddon; nor masculine, like Eliza Cook; but a small matronly-looking English lady" (Berrow's Worcester Journal Oct 6, 1866). She was under five feet in height due to a curvature in her spine.

Did you know?

Wood was born two months after the rather hasty marriage of her parents!

Additional information

Michael Flowers offers a brief outline of Wood's life and writing career. The Victorian Web hosts a number of useful links and resources