Mary Elizabeth Mann (1848–1929)

Mary Elizabeth Mann, née Rackham, was born in Norfolk, England, the daughter of a merchant. She married Fairman Joseph Mann, a yeoman farmer, churchwarden and parish guardian with whom she had four children. Through him, she became involved with the poor and sick of the parish. She published her debut novel, The Parish of Hilby, at age 35 in 1883. Over the next 35 years, she produced some 40 works, mainly focused on the lives of struggling Norfolk farmers during the agricultural and economic upheavals of the period. She is often described as the Thomas Hardy of Norfolk. Her writings were rediscovered by literary critics in the late 20th century and championed by writers such as A.S. Byatt, who included Mann's short story "Little Brother" in The Oxford Book of English Short Stories.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography considers her short fiction to be her best work, such as "Ben Pitcher's Elly," "Dora o' the Ringolets" and "The Lost Housen." In 2005, the theatre company Eastern Angles used a collection of her characters and stories as the basis of a play called A Dulditch Angel.