M. H. Sturgis

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M. H. Sturgis
BornMaria Trinidad Howard Sturgis
(1846-07-26)July 26, 1846
Manila, Philippines
DiedFebruary 11, 1890(1890-02-11) (aged 43)
Malvern, England
Pen name
  • S. C. G. Middlemore
  • M. H. Sturgis
OccupationWriter
SpouseSamuel George Chetwynd Middlemore (m. 1881-1890; his death)
RelativesHenry Parkman Sturgis (cousin)

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[edit]

Her first work Round a Posada Fire: Spanish Legends appeared in 1881.[1] In the preface, she declares that her intention is to introduce her readers to an overlooked element of Spanish culture: that of peasant folktales.[1] "There is hardly a more superstitious creature on the face of the globe than the Spaniard. He delights in everything ghostly and supernatural ..." she wrote.[1] She noted that most of the stories have already been published in American journals, but added the new Lovers of Teruel, about a pair of star-crossed lovers who die from thwarted love.[1]

In 1885, her Spanish Legendary Tales was published. It contained thirty folktales from northern Spain.[2] 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.”[2][3][4] The tales speak of ghosts, witches, religious miracles and werewolves.[3] The Serpent Woman and The Were-Wolf were both noted as early examples of speculative fiction in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.[5]

Personal life[edit]

She was born in Manila, the daughter of United States Consul to the Philippines Henry Parkman Sturgis.[6][7] The family made its fortune in trade between Canton and Manila through the firm Russell & Sturgis,[6][8] 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.[7] She spoke Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English fluently.[7]

She married English translator and journalist Samuel George Chetwynd Middlemore (1848-1890) on April 18, 1881 at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, where their wedding was attended by Henry James.[9][6][10]

She died in 1890, only two weeks after her husband's death and was interred at Malvern.[7][10] Her brother, Frederick Russell Sturgis, was her heir.[10]

List of works[edit]

Written works[edit]

  • 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).[1]
  • Spanish Legendary Tales (London: Chatto and Windus, 1885).[4]

Arrangements and recordings[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Middlemore, Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis. (1881). Round a posada fire: Spanish legends. London: W. Satchell. hdl:2027/nyp.33433088070192.
  2. ^ a b "Spanish Legendary Folktales". Books and Art. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  3. ^ a b L. W. Currey, Inc. "Spanish Legendary Tales by Mrs. S. G. C. Middlemore, Maria Trinidad Howard". L. W. Currey, Inc. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  4. ^ a b Middlemore, Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis (1885). Spanish Legendary Tales. University of California Libraries. London : Chatto and Windus. OCLC 1157456264.
  5. ^ "Summary Bibliography: Mrs. S. G. C. Middlemore". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  6. ^ a b c Law, John E. (2016-12-05). Communes and Despots in Medieval and Renaissance Italy. Routledge. pp. [no page numbers]. ISBN 978-1-351-95035-0.
  7. ^ a b c d Phillimore Watts, William; Carter, W. F. (1901). Some Account of the Family of Middlemore: Of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, by W. P. W. Phillimore ... Assisted by W. F. Carter ... private circulation, and issued. pp. 231–232.
  8. ^ Ellery, Harrison; Bowditch, Charles Pickering (1879). The Pickering Genealogy. Vol. 2. J. Wilson & Son. pp. 524–525.
  9. ^ James, Henry (2016-10-15). Michael Anesko and Greg W. Zacharias (ed.). The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1880–1883. Vol. 1. University of Nebraska Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-8032-8547-7.
  10. ^ a b c Howard, Joseph Jackson; Crisp, Frederick Arthur (1900). Visitation of England and Wales. Priv. printed. p. 80.
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