Edith Stewart Drewry

12th Jan 1841 - 30th Sep 1925

Life History

12th Jan 1841	Born in 11, Cambridge St., Hyde Park, London.
19th May 1841	Baptised in Paddington, London.
30th Sep 1925	Died in Paddington, London.

Notes

Edith's Birth Certificate

Edith Drewry's Birth Certificate

Edith Drewry's Baptism record Edith's Baptism Record

Edith's birth certificate does not include the middle name 'Stewart', nor does her baptism record.
She must have adopted the middle name later.

See also Georgina and her Sisters.

In the 1871 census, aged 30, living in her father's house at 16, Cottage Road, Paddington, Edith's profession is 'Author'.

In the 1881 census, unmarried, living in her father's house, 1 Westbury Terrace, her profession is 'Author Novelist & Press Writer'.

In the 1891 census Edith is living with her sister, Laurentia at 86, Southampton Row, in the parish of St. George, Bloomsbury.
They own a house and are able to share it with the Bristow family.

Edith Stewart Drewry	Head	Single	50	Author, Novelist	b. Paddington, London
Laurentia Drewry	Sister	Single	44	Author, Novelist, Press Corrector	b. Kensington, London
William Bristow	Lodger	Mar.	62	House Painter & Decorator	b. London
Elizabeth Bristow	Wife Of Lodger Housekeeper	Mar.	63	In Service as Housekeeper	b. Croydon, Surrey
Mary Anne Bristow	Daughter	Single	23	Milliner	b. Paddington, London
Eliza Agatha Bristow	Daughter	Single	20	Dressmaker	b. Paddington, London

Bloomsbury, in the following decade, becomes famous as the home of the 'Bloomsbury Group'.
While the sisters are not recorded as members of the Bloomsbury Set, it is linteresting to note that they were authors and and neighbours..

In 1897 the Electoral Registers have Edith Stewart Drewry and Laurentia Drewry at 108 Southampton Row (Bloomsbury Polling District).

In 1898 - 1903 the Electoral Registers have Edith and Laurentia at 2, Queen Square, Islington.

In the 1901 census at 2, Queen Square, St Andrew Holborn above the Bars and St George the Martyr:

Edith S Drewry	Head	Single	60	Novelist	b. London
Laurentia Drewry	Sister	Single	54	Novelist	b. London
Elizabeth Jackson	Servant	Widow	48	Servant Domestic	b. Gravesend, Kent

In 1902, Edith is the only member of our Drewry family with her name in the London Post Office phone book.

In 1905 - 1908 the Electoral Registers have Edith and Laurentia at 99, Camberwell Grove, Dulwich.

In the 1911 census at 250 Portsdown Road, Maida Vale:

Edith Stewart Drewry		Single	70	Novelist	b. Paddington, London
Caroline Thomas	Servant	Single	48	General Servant Domestic	b. Shoreditch London

Edith's signature in the 1911 census

The 1911 census actually has the four Drewry sisters living at 250, Portsdown Road.
They each make separate census entries
Edith is the only one giving her name as Drewry.
The others (possibly illegally) present themselves as: Ina Leon Cassilis (Georgina), Aimée Stewart (Emily), and Laurie Lansfeldt (Laurentia).

In 1918 & 1919 the Electoral Registers have Edith and Laurie Lansfeldt at 250, Portsdown.

In the 1921 census at 250 Portsdown Road, Maida Vale:

Edith Stewart Drewry	Head	Single	80yrs 8mths	Novelist (Retired)	b. Paddington, London
Laurentia Drewry	Sister	Single	74yrs 8mths	Novelist	b. Paddington, London
Caroline Thomas	Servant	Single	59yrs 7mths	General Domestic Servant	b. Shoreditch, London

In 1922, Edith Stewart Drewry, Laurie Lansfeldt, Aimée Stewart and 'Eva Leah Cassilis' are registered at 250, Portsdown.

In 1924, Edith Stewart Drewry, Laurie Lansfeldt, Aimée Stewart and Ina Leon Cassilis are registered at 250, Portsdown.

Edith the Author

"Edith, the eldest, began writing at a young age and wrote her first novel, Baptized with a Curse, in 1870, following it with four more. In addition, she serialized fiction in many periodicals, including Belgravia, The Family Herald, and The London Journal.
For a time she wrote musical reviews for the Musical Standard - from 1874 to 1880. ." [Source]

From Google Books In 'The London Journal, 1845-83' Andrew King writes:

"The following year [1877], Edith Stewart Drewry, two of whose novels had already been published in the Family Herald, became a regular serialist, although she was only ever identified through bylines."

The London Journal was one of the most widely read publications of nineteenth-century Britain, in "a period when mass-market reading in a modern sense was born. "

Some famous authors wrote for 'The London Journal'. Note that included in the list of contributors, alongside Edith's name, is Ina Leon Cassilis (her sister Georgina).

Some Contemporaries

"The writers discussed range from Catherine Gore and Anna Jameson at the beginning of the period, through Dinah Mulock Craik, Charlotte Yonge and Mary Braddon to Florence Marryat, Edith Stewart Drewry and Charlotte Riddell in the early 1880s."

Some Writing

Baptized with a Curse: A Novel. 3 volumes. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1870. [victorianresearch.org]

A Wife’s Temptation, [By the Author of Fairy’s Wedding, Edith Stewart Drewry]; The London Journal, 1877 [source]

A Name For A Life, [By the Author of A Wife’s Honour, A Strange Retribution, &c. Edith Stewart Drewry], The London Journal, 1878 [source]

In an Australian Newspaper Ellinor Leigh, The London Journal, 1878 [source]

A Dangerous Bouquet, (ss) The Novelette #23 1878 [source]

Under the Threshold, (sl) The Novelette #7, #8 1878 [source]

A Prize Worth Winning, The London Journal, 1879 [source]

Time Shall Try, The London Journal, 1879 [source]

The Lost Girl, The London Journal, 1879-80 [source]

At Beauty’s Bar, The London Journal, 1880 [source]

Trial And Temptation, The London Journal, 1880-81 [source]

That Is The Man, 07 December 1881 , Northampton Chronicle and Echo

A Death Ring by Edith Stewart Drewry, 2 vol. London: W.H. Moor and Co., 1881. [victorianresearch.org]

The Mistake of a Tragedy, The London Journal, 1882 [source]

For More Than a Life, The London Journal, 1883 [source]

Only an Actress, 3 volumes. London: White, 1883. [See a review in the Morning Post, Nov, 1883]

On Dangerous Ground: A Novel. 3 volumes. London: White, 1883.[victorianresearch.org]

Mysterious Visitant, Chapter 1, published: Friday 21 September 1888

On Information Received, Belgravia Annual, 1889 [source]

For somebody's sake: A novel. ... In three volumes. Published by F.V. White & Co., 1890. 230 pages.

In the Coventry Evening Telegraph, 2 July, 1895 That Odd Red Mark, Belgravia Annual, 1890 [source]

A Californian Story, 1891 [source]

A Twin-Identity, Belgravia Annual, 1891 [source]

The Black Pointer, Belgravia Annual, 1892 [source]

Once Too Often, Belgravia Annual, 1893 [source]

The Last Patient. Published: Monday 22 May 1893

The Strange Office of a Pin, 1893

Alf, 1894 [source]

The Engine Driver's Story, Tuapeka Times, 1894 [source]

Ricochet, Belgravia Annual, 1894 [source]

The Dancing Doll, Evening Express, 1894 [source]

Life's Charge, 1895 - Serial Story

By Some Person Unknown, A novel. Published: Tuesday 27 August 1895

The Squire's Diamonds, Published: Friday 27 September 1895

Fred Alford’s Partner, Belgravia Annual, 1895 [source]

The Last Boat in the Lock, 1895

That Next Room Tenant, North Wales Observer, 1897 [source]

Thhe Case of number Six, North Wales Observer, 1898 - "The woman was dead—there could be no mistake about it, and the doctor and night nurse stood by the bedside in the hospital ward, looking down on the poor, motionless form, then at each other, ..."

Coventry Evening Telegraph 1895 The Black Pointer, by Elizabeth(?) Stewart Drewry 8/19/05 [Posted_Ghosts]