Letitia Higgin

Letitia "Lily" Higgin (20 November 1837 – 30 November 1913), known by her pen name Hope Myddleton, was a British novelist and writer on needlework.

Life Higgin was born in Lancaster in 1837. She was the last of ten children born to Sarah (née Winfield) and Thomas Houseman Higgin. Her father was the manager of the Belfast and Ballymena Railway and a part owner of Lancaster's White Cross cotton mill until 1846. He was also the deputy governor and keeper of the town's castle Her elder brother George was a civil engineer in Spain and after her father died in 1861 she went to live with him. and she is the presumed to be "A. Resident" who wrote the book. It existed to keep the skill of hand embroidery going and to provide employment for impoverished ladies. In 1875, the school became the Royal School of Art Needlework, The Handbook of Embroidery included designs by William Morris, "Miss Jekyll" and Edward Burne-Jones and other designers associated with the school. The book was such a success that two pirated versions appeared in America. There were proposals for a second edition but Higgin and Alford had an unresolved copyright dispute.

Higgin wrote another book about Spain. She returned from Spain and died in Maidenhead in 1913. The new version includes an essay by the chief archivist noting the book's history and the impact of this "fascinating volume".

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography published an entry on Higgin in August 2024, alongside another needlewoman Jane Gaugain (1804-1860).