Regina Maria Roche

Regina Maria Roche was an Irish novelist born in County Cork, Ireland in 1764. She was the daughter of a successful businessman and received a good education, which included learning French and Italian. In 1780, she married a French officer, but he died a few years later, leaving her with two children to raise on her own. Roche turned to writing to support herself and her children. Her first novel, The Vicar of Lansdowne, was published in 1792 and was well-received. She went on to write several more novels, including The Children of the Abbey (1796), which became her most popular work. The Children of the Abbey is a gothic novel that tells the story of Amanda Fitzalan, an orphan who is taken in by a wealthy family. She falls in love with their son, but their relationship is threatened by the scheming of his jealous sister. The novel was a huge success and was reprinted many times. Roche continued to write novels throughout her life, but none were as successful as The Children of the Abbey. She died in 1845 at