Mrs. William Maude

A long life of literary usefulness has closed by the death of Mrs. William Maude, which occurred on the 7th inst. at her residence in London. We have it on the authority of the Catholic Who's Who that at the age of twelve Mrs. Maude published a story in aid of the children's hospital in Great Ormond Street. Whether the precocity thus manifested produced other works in her juvenile period is not stated, but certainty as a young woman the author of that early attempt was already constantly busy with the pen. Forty-five years ago the Catholic Truth Society issued the little story "Three Christmasses," the first of many tales by Sophie 'Maude to appear in the C.T.S. catalogue.
Mrs. Maude, a convert, was Sophie Dora, daughter of Major J. W. G. Spicer, J.P., Di., of Spye Park, Wilts. She married in 1890 the late William Cassell Maude, J.P., Barrister-at Law. Among her many novels arc The Hermit and the King, Right and Might, Catherine. Lord John. and The Duchess of York's Page. In her longer stories she cultivated with success the historical vein.
An Appreciation In Sophie Maude's unique personality (" there was no one quite like her " is a phrase now on many lips in her regard) there was a singular sweetness and childlike trust, with an ever fresh and incalculable charm of expression. No one else could go up to sight-seers in a Catholic church with quite her blend of assurance and sweetness, saying, " Have they given you one of these? " and present them with a penny Catechism or a C.T.S, pamphlet, or could order a cab whose driver was a " lapsed Catholic and say to him, on alighting at the church: " I feel sure, Mr. Grimes, that you would like to go to Confession; I will make a visit while you go, and then you will drive toe home."
She who had been brought up in the lap of luxury, in one of England's most beautiful parks, and had turned her back on worldly prospects for the sake of her Faith, was convinced that such an inestimable treasure should if necessary he thrust upon the attention of those who were blind to its
value. Her books were written with no other object, and these too are unique.
Against an accurate and vivid historical background, move figures simply drawn with natural emotions and straightforward adventures. There are no mysteries here, no subtleties, but an inimitable distinction of style, and a lovableness in characters which, though it does not thrill, always charms. As one correspondent wrote, " the characters are the kind one would like to meet, a thing one cannot say of many of the novels of today." Children love the books — as indeed they always loved the author : The Duchess of York's Page, telling of his adventures at the Court of James 11; The Child Countess who, disguised as a boy, escaped Elizabeth's pursuivants; The Hermit and the King, a lovely, almost lyrical tribute to the Holy King Henry VI, etc., etc.; and last of all, Lord John. telling so endearingly of the Blessed Grignon de Montfort and his devotion to Our Lady.
One of the best of Mrs. Maude's many short stories is What the Old Clock Saw, a delicious picture of the romantic weddings
of two generations. First the Catholic Jacobite elopes with the daughter of a staunch Protestant squire, and then the Catholic daughter achieves the conversion of her lover, only to see him, after the marriage, killed in the Gordon riots.
There has indeed passed from us in Sophie Maude a personality of singular sweetness, whom those who knew will not soon forget. R.I.P.