Mary and Catherine Lee

Born in London to Henry Boyle Lee MRCS and his wife Anne,[1] they lived in the south of England, and spent their later years in Bishops Stortford with their younger sister Frances.

Rosamond Fane tells a story of James II as a boy, and The Oak Staircase uses the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion as a starting point.

[5] When Mary Lee died the Athenaeum Magazine said her stories "gave pleasure to many young people and some older readers".

For instance, "a capital story, which cannot fail to keep its young readers' attention and interest", was The Spectator's verdict on Goldhanger Woods.

One critic, however, complained that Lucy's Campaign, despite its subtitle "a story of adventure", was "merely a tale for girls" in which the political and military events of the era had been made "subservient to matters of social interest".