Surname: Howitt Forename(s): Mary b. 12 March 1799. d. 30 January 1888. Nationality: English. VIAF.
Poet, children’s writer, editor, and translator. Née Botham. Raised a Quaker. Succeeded
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) as the editor for the Drawing Room Scrapbook in 1839. Published Howitt’s Journal from 1847-1848, but the journal quickly went bankrupt. Married William Howitt, a
Quaker and writer, on 16 April 1821, though they would both eventually leave the Society
of Friends in 1847 and adopt spiritualist beliefs. The Howitts moved to Heidelberg
in 1840 but Mary eventually returned to London from 1852-1854 while her husband and
sons were in Australia. In 1870, the Howitts divided their time between Italy and
the Tyrol. Author of Hymns and Fireside Verses (1839), Tales for the People and their Children (1844), My Own Story (1845), and Ballads and Other Poems (1847). Translated works by Frederika Bremer and Hans Christian Anderson. Biographical
information: ODNB. (SP)