Rosa Mulholland
The ghostly tales of a highly regarded and popular Irish,’Mistress of the Macabre’Rosa Mulholland, (ultimately, Lady Gilbert) was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1841, the daughter of a well-known doctor. She always intended to make the most of her creative abilities, penning and attempting publication of her first book at the age of only 15 years and by (unsuccessfully) submitting her illustrations to periodicals. In common with several female authors of her time she received assistance and encouragement from Charles Dickens, who recognised her talent. Indeed, her work regularly appeared in Dickens’ magazine,’ All The Year Round’. She was also published in ,’Cornhill Magazine’ among others. Her husband, Sir John Gilbert was a notable Irish antiquarian and historian. Once she had committed to her writing career, Mulholland’s output was typically prodigious. Excursions into folklore, witchcraft and the ghostly were more commonplace than exceptional during this era for authors eager to please a ready audience. So whilst she wrote shorter fiction, ideal for the genre,she also wrote poetry and a considerable number of novels, some of which appeared serialised in the ’Irish Monthly’. Perhaps predictably, feminist themes (by Victorian standards) regularly appear in her work. Mulholland’s work also appeared under the pseudonym ,’Ruth Murray’. Other stories included are,’The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly’, ’The Hungry Death’ and ’A Will o’ the Wisp’. Rosa Mulholland died in Dublin in 1921.Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.
