The Ebony Box

The Ebony Box by Ellen Wood, 1883.


Ellen Wood (1814 - 1887), was an English novelist, better known in that respect as Mrs. Henry Wood. She is remembered most for her 1861 novel East Lynne, but many of her books became international bestsellers and widely known in the United States. She surpassed the fame of Charles Dickens in Australia.
Ellen Price was born in Worcester in 1814. In 1836 she married Henry Wood, who worked in the banking and shipping trade in the South of France, where they lived for 20 years. On the failure of Wood’s business, the family (including four children) returned to England and settled in Upper Norwood near London, where Ellen Wood turned to writing.