Marie Duval

Early life and career Isabelle Emily Louisa Tessier was born in London on 25 September 1847 to parents of French descent. She initially became a governess but left to become an actor.

She contributed to Judy until 1885, and was at times generating over 100 contributions to the magazine each year.

Duval was the author of Queens and Kings and Other Things (1874), a collection of illustrated nonsense verse published under the pseudonym of "S. A. the Princess Hesse Schwartzbourg". She also co-wrote Rattletrap Rhymes and Tootletum Tales: a Big Book for Babies (1876) with Ross, using the pseudonym Ambrose Clarke.

Personal life In 1871, Duval had an affair with Herbert Augustus Such, and was a correspondent in the high profile divorce case brought by his wife in 1873.

In 1874, Duval had a child with Charles Henry Ross, and the family lived in Battersea. She adopted the name Ross but there are no records of a marriage.

Duval died of bronchitis, pneumonia and nephritis on 11 June 1890 in Clapham. She was buried in Wandsworth Cemetery as Isabella E Ross.