Lillian Maxwell Pyke (25 August 1881 – 31 August 1927) was an Australian children's writer who also wrote adult novels using the pseudonym Erica Maxwell.
Lillian Pyke | |
|---|---|
 Pyke in 1924 | |
| Born | Lillian Maxwell Heath 25 August 1881 Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 31 August 1927 (aged 46) Brighton, Victoria, Australia |
| Pen name | Erica Maxwell |
| Genre |
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| Children | 3, including Lawrence Richard Dimond Pyke |
| Relatives | John Richard Pyke (grandson) |
Biography edit
Pyke was born Lillian Maxwell Heath, the tenth child of Robert Mosely and Susannah Ellen Heath (née Wilson). She was educated at University High School in Melbourne.[1]
Pyke worked as a teacher and journalist prior to her marriage.[2] She married Richard Dimond Pyke on 7 April 1906[3] and the couple moved to near Gympie, Queensland, where he was an accountant for railway construction.[4] They had three children before his death by suicide in December 1914.[5][6] He had been suffering from depression and had a breakdown at the end of an investigation into the relationship between him and fellow staff members, but there was no evidence of financial mismanagement.[7]
Pyke took her children to Melbourne where she took up writing again to support the family.[2] She is credited with translating the first Australian novel into Esperanto.[8]
Pyke died in hospital at Brighton, Victoria on 31 August 1927[9] and was buried in Box Hill Cemetery.[2] She had been suffering from chronic renal disease. She was survived by her two daughters and son.[10]
Works edit
- Pyke, Lillian M. (1919), Camp kiddies: a story of life on railway construction, The Specialty Press[11]
- Pyke, Lillian M. (1924), Brothers of the fleet, Sutcliffe, Norman (illustrator), Ward Lock
- Pyke, Lillian M. (1924), Squirmy and bubbles: a school story for girls, Clark, Perce (illustrator), Whitcombe & Tombs[12]
- Pyke, Lillian M. (1926), Three bachelor girls, Ward, Lock
References edit
- ^ "Mrs Lillian M. Pyke". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 25, 291. Victoria, Australia. 1 September 1927. p. 14. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c Kingston, Beverley, "Pyke, Lillian Maxwell (1881–1927)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 30 September 2021
- ^ "Family Notices". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LXII, no. 15, 068. Queensland, Australia. 28 April 1906. p. 4. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Lillian M. Pyke". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ Kingston, Beverley, "Lillian Maxwell Pyke (1881–1927)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 7 November 2023
- ^ "Family Notices". The Age. No. 18, 631. Victoria, Australia. 5 December 1914. p. 7. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Magisterial Inquiry". Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette. Vol. XLVII, no. 7315. Queensland, Australia. 15 December 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "FIRST NOVEL IN ESPERANTO". World's News. 11 June 1930. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 25, 291. Victoria, Australia. 1 September 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Death of an Australian Authoress". The Age. No. 22, 591. Victoria, Australia. 1 September 1927. p. 9. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Ladies Letter". Advocate, Melbourne. Vol. LI, no. 2461. Victoria, Australia. 22 November 1919. p. 35. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Austlit. "Squirmy and Bubbles : A School Story for Girls | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 30 September 2021.