Elizabeth Spence

Elizabeth Isabella Spence (12 January 1768 – 27 July 1832) was a Scottish novelist and travel writer.

Life Spence was born in Dunkeld in 1768 and after being orphaned she went to live with an aunt and uncle in London, but they also died and she had to quickly turn her hobby of writing into a means of income. Her uncle was James Fordyce, who was the author of Sermons to Young Women, and her work was said to reflect this moral approach. She initially wrote sentimental fiction but then turned her attention to travel writing.

Her approach was to travel during summer composing letters and anecdotes about her travels which she then later edited into a book. She is sometimes noted because she sent notes to other women writers of the time.

Spence died in Chelsea in 1832 of a stroke. The Wedding Day, 1807 Summer Excursions through part of England and Wales, 1809 Sketches of the Present Manners, Custom, and Scenery of Scotland, 1811 Commemorative Feelings, 1812 The Curate and his Daughter: a Cornish Tale, 1813 The Spanish Guitar, 1815 A Traveller's Tale of the Last Century, 1819 Old Stories, 1822 How to be rid of a Wife, 1823 Dame Rebecca Berry, 1827 Tales of Welsh Society and Scenery