The daughter of the author Charles Kingsley, Malet (her adopted pseudonym) was educated at home until the 1870's when she attended the Slade School and University College, London. She married a clergyman, William Harrison, in 1876, but the marriage was unsuccessful and they finally separated in the 1890's. Malet published her first novel, Mrs. Lorimer: A Study in Black and White, in 1882 and during the 1880's had some very successful works. It wasn't until 1891 with the publication of The Wages of Sin that her literary reputation was firmly established. Her husband died in 1897 and she moved to London and in 1902 she converted to Catholicism. Her novel, The History of Sir Richard Calmady (1901), was a phenomenal success and reached the best-seller list in 1902. In 1906, she published The Far Horizon, a novel with strong religious overtones that reflected her new beliefs. She continued to live in London throughout the First World War and then moved to Montreux in France in 1924. Her literary successes continued during the 1920's and she became one of the most read female authors of the 20th century. She became ill on a visit to England in 1930 and died at a friend's house the following year. Her other works include Colonel Enderby's Wife (1885), Carissima (1896), Gateless Barrier (1900), Adrian Savage (1911), Golden Galleon (1911), Damaris (1916), Tall Villa (1919), Da Silva's Widow and Other Stories (1922), The Survivors (1923) and The Dogs of Want (1924). |
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