Kavanagh (1824-77) was an Irish-born novelist who lived for much of her life in France and set many of her works there. Her literary career began when she and her mother moved to London around 1844 after separating from her father in France and thereafter she supported her invalid mother and herself by writing, her novel Madeleine, a Tale of Auvergne (1848) bringing her recognition. By the early 1860s mother and daughter had returned to France, living in Paris and Rouen before settling in Nice where Julia died in 1877. Her work often featured strong, independent and resourceful women and is now recognised as exposing the anomalies of social and sexual difference whilst adhering to the conventions of the time. In addition to her novels she was a prolific contributor to periodical literature and also wrote many biographical sketches. This work was first published in 1855 and, like Madeleine, was based on fact.