Georgina Norway

Georgina Norway (1833–1915) was a British writer of children's adventure fiction. She was published under the name G Norway. Her grandson was the writer and engineer Nevil Shute.

Early life Georgina Shute was born on 2 December 1833 in Liverpool to merchant Stephen Shute and his wife Georgina (née Bent) of Finch Street, Liverpool. She was baptised a month later, on 4 January 1834, in the Renshaw Street Presbyterian Chapel in Liverpool.

Marriage and writing Georgina married Arthur Stanbury Norway in Farnworth Parish Church, Prescot, near Bolton, Lancashire on 24 September 1857. The couple had two sons, Nevell Edmund (5 August 185824 October 1902), a surgeon, and Arthur Hamilton (185925 December 1938), who worked for the Post Office.

Norway's husband Arthur was declared bankrupt and had trustee assigned on 22 June 1864. The bankruptcy dragged on for the nest two and a half years, with the final distribution of the assets in December 1867. The family had two adult servants at the time of the 1861 census, one adult servant by 1871, and had only a 10-year-old girl by 1881. Arthur died in 1886, and Georgina began to write, publishing her first novel, The Brand of Cain in 1888. Norway was living with her sons in Ealing in 1891, and the household now kept one adult (20) and one child servant (14).

Norway published under the name G. Norway. Bassett says that she so successfully concealed her gender that many sources refer to her as "George Norway". so her gender was not a secret. However, The Standard used the male pronoun to refer to the author, so it was clear that Norway's gender, while not a secret, was not broadcast.

Norways's books were well-reviewed at the time. The Standard said of The Loss of John Humble, her first full-length novel, that "This story will place the author at once in the front rank. It is full of life and adventure. The interest of the story is sustained without a break from first to last". and The Spectator said "A very spirited story of the sea interspersed with pleasant and lively sketches of Scandinavian manners . . . As good a story of the kind as we have ever seen".

Personal life

Her son Arthur Hamilton was also a writer, and his son was the novelist Nevil Shute. Nevil Shute used the name of one of his grandmother's characters, Johnnie Pascoe, for one of his own characters. In his 1954 autobiography, Slide Rule, Nevil Shute acknowledged the influence that his father and grandmother had had on him thus: "I don't think there is a great deal in the theory that writing ability is dictated by heredity, but I think there is a great deal in environment. My father and my grandmother both wrote a number of books, so that the business was familiar to me before I started."

Norway was a boarder with the Hills of 75 Haven Lane, Ealing in 1911, but moved to Ireland after her youngest son, Arthur Hamilton Norway, was placed in charge of the Post Office in Ireland in 1912. She died in Killiney, Dublin, Ireland, on 3 March 1915, leaving an estate of £556 to her son Arthur.

Selected works +List of works by G Norway, with catalogue status and the availability of online texts. No. Year Title Publisher Pages Illustrator 1 1888 The Brand of Cain London: Ward Lock BL 96 2 1889 Adventures of Johnnie Pascoe London: James Nisbet 100 3 1890 The Loss of John Humble: What Led to it and What Came of It London: Blackie 351 J. Schonberg 4 1891 How Martin Drake Found his Father: or, Wanderers in the West A Story of White and Black Slavery in the Early Days of the American Colonies London: Sampson Low 342 5 1891 Hussein the Hostage: or, A Boy's Adventures in Persia London: Blackie HT 352 J. Schonberg 6 1894 A True Cornish Maid: A Story of the Last Century London: Blackie 288 J. Finnmore 7 1895 Christiaan, the Boy of Leyden: A Story Founded on Fact London: James Nisbet 126 8 1895 A Prisoner of War: A Story of the Time of Napoleon Bonaparte London: Blackie 288 Robert Barnes 9 1896 Tregarthen London: Hurst and Blackett 3 Vols 10 1896 Betsy Kitson, etc. London: National Society's Depository 138 11 1897 A Dangerous Conspirator (also A Jacobite Conspirator) London: Jarrold and Son BL 352 Paul Hardy 12 1898 Ralph Denham's Adventures in Burma Edinburgh: W. P. Nimmo PG 255 13 1898 Little Marjorie's Secret London: Religious Tract Society 32 14 1899 A Roman Household London: National Society's Depository 223 W. S. Stacey 15 1900 Falsely Accused London: Digby, Long & Co. 299 16 1901 Duance Pendray: A Story of Jacobite Times in Cornwall London: Jarrold and Son 276 W. H. Margetson 17 1901 Riverslea London: National Society's Depository 137 18 1902 In False Attire: a novel London: Digby, Long & Co. 320 19 1902 Willoughby Manor: a Story of Old Liverpool Edinburgh: W. P. Nimmo 320 20 1903 Mignonette, etc. London: National Society's Depository 127