Una Lucy Silberrad
| Una Lucy Silberrad | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 May 1872 Buckhurst Hill, Essex |
| Died | 1 September 1955 (aged 83) Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
| Relatives | Sister of Oswald Silberrad |
Una Lucy Silberrad (8 May 1872 – 1 September 1955) was a British author. She wrote about 40 novels, often characterized as "middlebrow", which highlight conservative middle-class virtues even as they focus on capable female protagonists.
It was not until 1899 when Silberrad was 27 years old that her first novel, The Enchanter, was published. It received one of its first reviews in , a trade periodical published in New York and London. After 1899 she wrote and published regularly. Of her more than 40 titles, most were novels. She also wrote short stories and a few non-fictional works. Her first 26 books were published by a variety of publishers, based in London and New York, but the second half of her oeuvre came out with Hutchinson & Co. Her permanent literary agent was A. & P. Watt & Co. Apart from her fictional work, she wrote one work on horticulture: Dutch Bulbs and Gardens, a collaborative work written after a visit to the Netherlands. It contains appendices by Sophia Lyall and illustrations by Mina Nixon.
Her writing was most likely intended for a conservative middle-class, middlebrow audience. Her novels contain many allusions to other literary works and concepts, but her prose style, which might be classified as late-Victorian, is eclectic. She reused several literary topics that are closely connected with her life, including geographical locations, such as Essex, the North of England and the City of London. Another recurring theme is the sciences, particularly chemistry and alchemy, which appear in over half of her novels, undoubtedly using her brother's professional experiences and education: Oswald Silberrad was a renowned early 20th-century chemist. Several early works feature a brother of the heroine who studies chemistry. A colophon in Keren of Lowbole (1913) describes her own attempts at making artificial lapis lazuli (ultramarine) and ether.
The requirement for economic success is one of the indicators of middlebrow writing. Silberrad's novels "are clearly targeted to a conservative middle-class audience". Her works were frequently published in reprint series, decent but inexpensive copies which catered for the needs of the increasing numbers of potential readers, particularly among the suburban middle classes.
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