Just bought this copy of Love in a London Lodging by F.A. Howden, published by T. Fisher Unwin, Paternoster Square, London, 1895.

It’s a green cloth first edition (and likely only edition) in decent condition. The bookseller marked it ‘scarce’ and I’ve searched everywhere online, it appears in no catalogues, no listings, nowhere.

Here’s what I know:

	∙	Published by T. Fisher Unwin, 1895 - a prestigious imprint (Conrad, H.G. Wells, Maugham were all Unwin authors around this time)

	∙	Epigraph from Guy de Maupassant: “Elle aima, elle fut aimée” (She loved, she was loved)

	∙	Dedicated “To J.M.H.” - printed, not handwritten, so a formal dedication to someone sharing the author’s surname initial

	∙	The novel opens in Scotland, moves to London, and ends on a quietly bittersweet note - the final line is: “Truly life is sometimes a hard thing for a good woman.”

	∙	F.A. also published a short story called At the Dawning in the Belgravia Summer Holiday Number in 1897 - so there are at least two known works

	∙	The book carries a sticker from Martin’s Bookseller, Sandown & Shanklin, Isle of Wight

The use of initials only, the subject matter, and that final line all strongly suggest F.A. Howden was a woman writing under initials - common practice for female authors in the 1890s.

Does anyone know anything about her? Full name, biography, any other works? It feels like a small literary mystery worth solving.

Who was F.A. Howden? Picked up this scarce 1895 Victorian novel and can’t find anything about the author.