Elizabeth Bonhôte, née Mapes (baptised 11 April 1744 – 11 June 1818) was an English novelist, essayist and poet.

After her death at Bungay on 11 June 1818, her will disposed of several dwelling houses and a bakery and shop in the town, as well as £3500 in cash and annuities.

Elizabeth Mapes wrote several elegies and poems in praise of the monarchy, and a first anonymous novel, Hortensia, or, The Distressed Wife in 1769.

This is a moralistic work thought to have been influenced in its form by Laurence Sterne's A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy (1768).

[1] Illness after the birth of her children contributed to a break in her writing career, which was resumed with the novel Olivia, or, The Deserted Bride in 1787.

The verdict of a modern critic: "Intended as a guide to her children in the event of her death, it advocated acceptance of one's lot and dependence on adults.

Its grandeur gave rise to Bungay Castle, a Gothic romance which appeared in 1796 with the popular publisher Minerva Press and was dedicated to the Duke of Norfolk.