Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis Middlemore

Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis Middlemore (also wrote as Mrs. S. C. G. Middlemore and M. H. Sturgis; July 26, 1846, Manila – February 11, 1890, Malvern, England) was an American author, based in England. She was notable for her collection and translation of Spanish-language folktales into English.

Writing Her first work Round a Posada Fire: Spanish Legends appeared in 1881. In the preface, she declares that her intention is to introduce her readers to an overlooked element of Spanish culture: that of peasant folktales. She wrote in the preface: “Friends have remarked to me on the weird and tragic air of many of these tales. The answer is simply that such, as a fact, is the general character of the Spanish legend.” The tales speak of ghosts, witches, religious miracles and werewolves.

Personal life She was born in Manila, the daughter of United States Consul to the Philippines Henry Parkman Sturgis. The family made its fortune in trade between Canton and Manila through the firm Russell & Sturgis, co-founded by her father in 1828 as an offshoot of Russell & Co.

She was the cousin of British politician Henry Parkman Sturgis, who was named after her father. She was raised as Roman Catholic.

She died in 1890, only two weeks after her husband's death and was interred at Malvern. Her brother, Frederick Russell Sturgis, was her heir.

List of works Written works Songs of the Pyrenees with Spanish, French, and English Words (1877), with W. P. Blake. Reissued 1918. Round a Posada Fire: Spanish Legends (London: W. Satchell and Co., 1881). Spanish Legendary Tales (London: Chatto and Windus, 1885).

Arrangements and recordings

A Basque Song: Alza, Alza (Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt & Co., c. 1886), with W. P. Blake. Linda Mia: Spanish Folk Song (Camden, N.J.: Victor Record, c. 1912). Recorded Jan. 10, 1905. Arranged by M.H. Sturgis, W.P. Blake. Linda Mia: Spanish Folk Song Recorded March 24, 1923. Arranged by M.H. Sturgis, W.P. Blake.