ABSTRACT
287Catherine Grace Frances Gore was bom in 1799 in Nottinghamshire, the daughter of a wine merchant named Moody. 1 She was educated at home and exhibited “literary genius” at an early age (The Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922 ed.), producing a number of poems that were praised by Joanna Baillie but never printed. 2 On 15 February 1823 she married Captain Charles Arthur Gore who sold his commission as sub-lieutenant of the 1st life guards to support his wife. During the years that followed, Catherine raised ten children and began writing in earnest to supplement the family income. Her first novel, Theresa Marchmont; or, the Maid of Honor appeared in 1824, followed immediately by her first play, a closet melodrama in three acts entitled The Bond.
