Kelly, Isabella

(?1759-1857)

   She was born at Cairnburgh Castle (off the coast of Mull, Scotland), the daughter of William Fordyce, a military officer who was in the service of George III, though in time he fell from favor at court. In 1789, she married Robert Hawke Kelly, an officer of the East India Company in Madras. Apparently deserted by her husband, she turned to writing and published a total of sixteen books in her career. In 1816 she married Mr. Hedgeland, a wealthy merchant, who died four years later, leaving her well provided for. She died in London following an accident. Some of her publications: A Collection of Poems and Fables, 1794. Madeline or, The Castle of Montgomery, 1794 (novel). Joscelina: or, The Rewards of Benevolence, 1797 (novel). The Baron's Daughter: A Gothic Romance, 1802. Poems and Fables on Several Occasions 1805 and 1807. The Child's French Grammar, 1805. Some of her poems: "To a Brother, on Entering the Army," "To a Wandering Husband, from a Deserted Wife," "To an Unborn Infant" (an elegy on her dead son), "To the Memory of the Lamented Mr. Robert Hawke K-y" (an elegy).

   Sources: The Treshnish Isles and Cairnburgh Castle, Mull (http://www.mull-historical-society.co.uk/cairnburghcastle.htm). Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Eighteenth Century Women Poets: An Oxford Anthology. Roger Lonsdale, ed. Oxford University Press, 1989. English Poetry, Second Edition Bibliography (http://collections.chadwyck.co.uk/html/ep2/bibliography/g.htm). Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period (http://www.alexanderstreet2.com/SWRP Live/bios/S7032-D001.html). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org).