Excuse my dust: Mary Brunton
Mary Brunton (1778-1818)
Born in Orkney but spending most of her life in Edinburgh and East Lothian, Mary Brunton was the wife of a Church of Scotland minister. Her novels were popular – early readers included Jane Austen, who devoured them but permitted herself a few satirical comments on their implausibilities – and highly moral, with heroines who must learn the stern virtues of their titles.
Works include:
Self-Control (1814) (ed. Sara Maitland, 1986, Pandora)
Discipline (1819) (ed. Fay Weldon, 1986, Pandora)
Biography:
Mary McKerrow: Mary Brunton: The Forgotten Scottish Novelist (Kirkwall: Orcadian, 2001)
Acknowledgement: 'This document /webpage/text was prepared by Helen Vincent of the National Library of Scotland for the Women's Forum workshop at NLS in 2010, and is re-used here by permission.