Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry

Poet, short fiction writer, children’s author, as well as governess and teacher. Alternative signature: “M. Falconer.” Sister of Agnes S. Falconer. Educated at Duns Public School, Miss Lithgow’s Academy in Duns, and then Miss Crawford’s Young Ladies College in Edinburgh. Attended the University of Edinburgh, gaining the Senior Certificate in 1883, with honours in English, history and geography, and gained the Government teacher’s certificate in 1890 and the L.L.A Diploma from St Andrew’s University in 1892. In 1893 she passed the L.L.A examination in education with honours and received a First Class in German. In 1887, she worked as a governess at Cumledge House, Duns, and was governess to the sons of the minister of Edrom, Berwickshire, in 1889, before being appointed an assistant teacher at Swinton Public School in 1889 to 1892. Later, she taught at Kinghorn Public School, Fife, and at Bellevue House School, a girls’ boarding and day school in Yorkshire. The Falconer sisters contributed to a range of Scottish and English newspapers and periodicals, including People’s Journal, Weekly Scotsman, Pall Mall Magazine. The Falconer sisters’ scrapbooks are located in the Scottish Borders Local History Centre and Archive, Hawick. Chambers’s Journal ledger entries refer to her as Miss Falconer and list her address as Elder Bank, Duns (poem published on 14 April 1888; NLS Dep 341/370) and Newtown House, Duns (poem published on 15 May 1897; NLS Dep 341/371), Berwickshire. Thanks to Charlotte Lauder for the biographical information. (AC)