Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis Middlemore

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Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis Middlemore (also wrote as Mrs. S. C. G. Middlemore and M. H. Sturgis; née Sturgis; July 26, 1846 in Manila – February 11, 1890 in Malvern) was an American-Filipina author. She is notable for her collection and translation of Spanish-language folktales into English.

Writing[]

Her first work Round a Posada Fire: Spanish Legends appeared in 1881.[1] In the preface, she declares that her intention is to introduce her readers to an overlooked element of Spanish culture: that of peasant folktales.[1] "There is hardly a more superstitious creature on the face of the globe than the Spaniard. He delights in everything ghostly and supernatural ..." she declares.[1] She also notes that most of the stories have already been published in American journals, but adds the new "Lovers of Teruel," about a pair of star-crossed lovers who die from thwarted love.[1]

In 1885, her Spanish Legendary Tales was published. It contained thirty folktales from northern Spain.[2] She wrote in the preface: “Friends have remarked to me on the weird and tragic air of many of these tales. The answer is simply that such, as a fact, is the general character of the Spanish legend.”[2][3][4] The tales speak of ghosts, witches, religious miracles and werewolves.[3] "The Serpent Woman" and "The Were-Wolf" are both noted as early examples of speculative fiction in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.[5]

She also translated, scored, and arranged many Spanish folk songs which continued to be popular long after her death.

Personal life[]

She was born in Manila, the daughter of United States Consul to the Philippines Henry Parkman Sturgis.[6][7] The family made its fortune in trade between Canton and Manila through the firm Russell & Sturgis,[6][8] co-founded by her father in 1828 as an offshoot of Russell & Co. She was the cousin of British politician Henry Parkman Sturgis, who was named after her father. She was raised as Roman Catholic.[7] She spoke Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English fluently.[7]

She married English translator and journalist Samuel George Chetwynd Middlemore (1848-1890). They married on April 18, 1881 at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, where their wedding was attended by Henry James.[9][6][10]

She died in 1890, only two weeks after her husband's death and was interred at Malvern.[7][10] Her brother Frederick Russell Sturgis was her heir.[10]

List of works[]

Written works[]

  • Songs of the Pyrenees with Spanish, French, and English Words (1877), with W. P. Blake. Reissued 1918.
  • Round a Posada Fire: Spanish Legends (London: W. Satchell and Co., 1881).[1]
  • Spanish Legendary Tales (London: Chatto and Windus, 1885).[4]

Arrangements and recordings[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Middlemore, Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis. (1881). Round a posada fire: Spanish legends. London: W. Satchell.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Spanish Legendary Folktales". Books and Art. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b L. W. Currey, Inc. "Spanish Legendary Tales by Mrs. S. G. C. Middlemore, Maria Trinidad Howard". L. W. Currey, Inc. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Middlemore, Maria Trinidad Howard Sturgis (1885). Spanish Legendary Tales. University of California Libraries. London : Chatto and Windus.
  5. ^ "Summary Bibliography: Mrs. S. G. C. Middlemore". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Law, John E. (2016-12-05). Communes and Despots in Medieval and Renaissance Italy. Routledge. pp. [no page numbers]. ISBN 978-1-351-95035-0.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Phillimore Watts, William; Carter, W. F. (1901). Some Account of the Family of Middlemore: Of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, by W. P. W. Phillimore ... Assisted by W. F. Carter ... private circulation, and issued. pp. 231–232.
  8. ^ Ellery, Harrison; Bowditch, Charles Pickering (1879). The Pickering Genealogy. vol. 2. J. Wilson & Son. pp. 524–525. |volume= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ James, Henry (2016-10-15). Michael Anesko and Greg W. Zacharias (ed.). The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1880–1883. 1. University of Nebraska Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-8032-8547-7.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Howard, Joseph Jackson; Crisp, Frederick Arthur (1900). Visitation of England and Wales. Priv. printed. p. 80.
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