The daughter of one of the Duke of Wellington's officers, Edwards was educated at home and developed a flair for writing from an early age. Her first poem was published when she was only seven and her first story appeared when she was 12. She contributed to numerous periodicals such as Household Words and Chamber's Journal in addition to newspapers such as the Saturday Review. Her first novel, My Brother's Wife was published in 1855 and was moderately successful. However, her first real breakthrough came with her novel, Barbara's History, in 1864. Edwards travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East and her published works of these travels are among her best efforts. Her travels in Egypt were documented in A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877) and Edwards became a major force in the field of Egyptology. She was a founding member of the Egyptological Society in London which financed the exploration work of Flinders Petrie. In 1889-1890 she undertook a lecture tour of America, but her health was beginning to deteriorate and in 1892, she succumbed from a case of severe influenza. Edwards was awarded honorary degrees from Columbia College, Smith College and the College of the Sisters of Bethany. Among her works were The North Mail (1864), Debenham's Vow (1870), Monsieur Maurice (1873), A Service of Danger (1873), The Days of My Youth (1873), Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys (1873), Lord Brackenbury (1880) and Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers (1891). |
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