Lifespan: 1825-1902
Nationality: Irish
Types of Work: Novels
Other Names: Mrs. Alexander
Bio:
Annie French Hector was born on 23 June 1825 in Dublin, Ireland. Her father was Robert French, a Dublin solicitor, and her mother was Anne Malone. Educated at home under governesses, she was a prolific reader. Pecuniary losses forced the family to move to London where Annie made the acquaintance of many other literary figures-- Mrs. Basil Montagu and Mrs. S.C. Hall.
Annie's published her first two novels, "Agnes Waring" in 1854, and "Kate Vernon" in 1855, but received little notice for the works.
She married Alexander Hector on 15 April 1858. Her husband was a known explorer and had once been in the East India Company's navy. He later became a antiquarian dealer and archeologist, assisting Sir Henry Layard in excavations in Assyria. The British Museum purchased some of his finds, and he eventually returned to England with a large fortune where he married Annie. After their marriage, Alexander became ill and was eventually partially paralyzed. He died in 1875. The couple had 4 children.
Annie wrote little during her husband's lifetime, as he disapproved of writing as a vocation for women. Still, her novel, "What Shall It Be" was published in 1866, and she published her best known novel, "The Wooing" in 1873. After her husband's death, she began to write more seriously as a way to supplement lost income. She moved around between Germany and France for nine years before settling again in London in 1885. In all she wrote 46 novels.
Annie died in London from neuritis on 10 July 1902. She was buried in Kensal Green cemetery.
Novels:
Agnes Waring (1854)
Kate Vernon (1855)
The Happy Cottage (1856)
Which Shall it Be (1866)
The Wooing O'T (1873)
Ralph Wilton's Ward (1875)
Her Dearest Foe (1876)
The Heritage of Langdale (1877)
The Freres (1882)
The Executor (1883)
The Admiral's Ward (1883)
By Woman's Wit (1886)
Mona's Choice (1887)
The Snare of the Fowler (1892)
Kitty Costello (1904)
Look Before You Leap
Wilton's Weird