b. 28 January 1821. d. 31 October 1900. Nationality: English.
Novelist, poet, and editor. Alternative signature: “B. Aikin.” Born in London. Worked
as a governess for various families around the United Kingdom. Contributed to *Family
Herald*. Opened a school in her home with her sisters for local and Anglo-Indian children.
Editor of *Court Suburb Magazine* (1868–1870). Founded a Sunday School for poor children
and was a secretary at a school for working-class girls. Author of the anti-suffragist
pamphlet *Pro Aris et Focis: The True Rights of Women* (1869). Never married. Acquainted
with Samuel Carter Hall and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Biographical information: *ODNB*.
(CC)