Henrietta Mary Batson née Blackman (1859–1943) was an English writer whose interest in the countryside and rural people was an important theme in her novels and much of her non-fiction.

Her earlier novels seemed to have something in common with Thomas Hardy's, including their “Wessex” setting and exploration of the tragic side of life.

She wrote about "rustic" characters[5] and in real life took a sympathetic interest in “less fortunate” country people.

[4] For example, a review of her novel The Gay Paradines said "...with the small reservations mentioned we can heartily recommend the story to all our readers; the standard is high, and the tone good in every way.

She published non-fiction works on most of these subjects and also made scrapbooks, wrote diaries and created a multi-volume manuscript account of family history, which she gave to the London Society of Genealogists.