Dolf Wyllarde

Dorothy Margarette Selby Lowndes, writing as Dolf Wyllarde (3 April 1871 – 10 May 1950) was a British journalist and a writer of verse and fiction. From 1897 to 1939, she was known to publish in excess of 30 books, including novels, stories and children's literature. Numerous reviews of her work mistakenly referred to her as a male due to misunderstanding of her chosen name, with some believing it to be a pen name.

She was described by one newspaper as being "one of the pioneers in the latest phase of English fiction" and as "a new power in the fiction world, a power to be reckoned with". Little is known about her private life and she died a spinster in May 1950.

Career

Born on 3 April 1871, she was educated at King's College London. She described herself as a London correspondent, sports editor, reporter and a paragraphist. In 1902, after suffering from overwork, she travelled to South Africa to recover her health. Throughout her career, she published over 30 books between 1897 and 1939, encompassing story collections, children's books and numerous novels.

Her 1902 novel The Story of Eden was highly praised by New York's The Brooklyn Daily Eagle as one of the most impressive novels recently produced by England. Wyllarde later explained that the novel was inspired by her visit to South Africa in 1889, a trip she took after suffering a breakdown from excessive work. She began writing the novel while in Wynberg and continued during her journey back to England. Despite her illness, she credited her journalism background for her ability to write swiftly and persistently, regardless of her physical or mental state, emphasising that journalism was an invaluable training ground for writers.