Florence Dixie

Lady Florence Caroline Dixie (née Douglas; 24 May 1855 – 7 November 1905) was a Scottish writer, war correspondent, and feminist. Her account of travelling Across Patagonia, her children's books The Young Castaways and Aniwee; or, The Warrior Queen, and her feminist utopia Gloriana; or, The Revolution of 1900 all deal with feminist themes related to girls, women, and their positions in society.

Early life

Born in Cummertrees, Dumfries, Scotland on 24 May 1855, Lady Florence Douglas was the daughter of Caroline Margaret Clayton, daughter of General Sir William Clayton, 5th Baronet, Member of Parliament for Great Marlow, and Archibald Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry.

She had a twin brother, Lord James Edward Sholto Douglas, an older sister, Lady Gertrude Douglas, and three older brothers: John, Viscount Drumlanrig, later 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Lord Francis Douglas, and the Reverend Lord Archibald Edward Douglas.

Lady Florence has been described as a tomboy who tried to match her brothers in physical activities, whether swimming, riding, or hunting. She rode astride, wore her hair short in a boyish crop, and refused to conform to fashion when being presented to Queen Victoria. She and her twin brother James were particularly close during childhood, calling each other "Darling" (Florence) and "Dearest" (James). She was also close to her older brother John, whom she resembled in temperament, both being "fearless, dynamic and opinionated".

Her childhood was marked by a number of dramatic and even tragic events. On 6 August 1858, when she was three, Lady Florence's father died; he was widely believed to have killed himself. In 1862, his widow, Caroline, acted upon a long-formed conviction and converted to Roman Catholicism. She took her youngest children, Archibald, then twelve, and Florence and James, aged seven, to France, where she could educate them as she wished. This led the children's guardians to threaten Lady Queensberry with an action under English law to take her children away from her. The three were too young to choose a guardian under Scottish law. In the event, they remained in France for two years. Falconer Atlee, the British Consul at Nantes, offered them a place of safety when their first location was discovered, and the Emperor Napoleon III eventually extended Lady Queensberry his protection, ensuring that she could keep the custody of the three children. Archibald converted to Rome and took holy orders, becoming a priest. Caroline's older daughter, Gertrude, also became a Roman Catholic. When her Anglican fiancé would not agree to their children being brought up in that faith, Gertrude's engagement was broken off. She entered a convent in Hammersmith and completed her novitiate to become a Sister of the Black Veil in 1867, but later left the order.