Eliza Emily Donnithorne

Eliza Emily Donnithorne (8 July 1821 – 20 May 1886) was an Australian woman best known as a possible inspiration for the character of Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations.

[3] Although there are multiple versions of the story and historical evidence is scarce,[2] most accounts of Donnithorne's life focus on a broken engagement when she was about 30 years old.

When death at last came to Eliza, those who came to carry her to the greater peace of Camperdown Cemetery found her still clad in her bridal gown.

[8] The claim that Eliza Donnithorne inspired the character of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations has been part of Australian literary lore since at least the last decades of the 19th century.

[10] Charles Dickens never visited Australia, but he was interested in the Australian colonies and wrote frequently about them in his weekly journal, Household Words.

One 1935 newspaper report describes Donnithorne's father, James, as "a great friend of the famous writer", but offers no source for this statement.

[2] Opera: Miss Donnithorne's Maggot is a 1974 operatic work, with music by Peter Maxwell Davies and text by Randolph Stow.