Correspondence with Maria Callcott (1840-1843) - Women's Voices and Life Writing

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Title

Correspondence with Maria Callcott (1840-1843)

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Document Type

Date

9 Jan 1840 - 20 Jan 1843

Biography

Maria Callcott, formerly Graham, was a British writer and illustrator. She was born in 1785 in Cumberland, the daughter of a naval officer of the Scottish Dundas clan, George Dundas, and Ann. In 1808, George accepted a position as head of the naval works at the British EIC dockyard in Bombay and travelled to India with his now 23-year-old daughter. On the journey, Maria met naval officer Thomas Graham and the pair married in India in 1809, before returning to England two years later where Maria worked as a book editor and translator. Maria’s literary career also began at this time, a product of her many travels. Over her lifetime, she published at least 15 books on various subjects including travel, art history, botany, religion and history. In 1821, Maria accompanied her husband aboard HMS Doris on a trip to Chile, which saw Thomas sadly die of fever. Now a widow, Maria spent a year living among the Chileans before journeying back to England where she became a tutor of Princess Maria de Gloria for a year. In 1825, Maria stayed in Kensington Gravel Pits, where her lodgings became a meeting point for London’s intellectuals including writers and painters. Here she met Royal Academy painter Augustus Wall Callcott, whom she married in February 1827. In 1831, as a result of a ruptured blood vessel, Maria became physically disabled, though she continued entertaining and writing. When her husband was knighted in 1837, Maria became known as Lady Callcott. Her health soon deteriorated, and she died aged 57.

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