Margaret Anastasia Howitt (August 2, 1839 – April 8, 1930) was a Victorian writer, illustrator, and editor, best known for her literary contributions and her lifelong devotion
to her parents, the renowned authors William and Mary Howitt.Queer Places:
Via Sistina, 55, 00187 Roma RM
Ansitz Mair am Hof, Herzog-Diet-Straße 24, 39031 Dietenheim/Bruneck (BZ), Italy
Margaret Anastasia Howitt (August 2, 1839 – April 8, 1930) was a Victorian writer, illustrator, and editor, best known for her literary contributions and her lifelong devotion
to her parents, the renowned authors William and Mary Howitt.
Born in Esher, Surrey, Margaret grew up in an intellectually vibrant household. As the youngest child of William and Mary Howitt, she was raised in an environment characterized by literary industry and social engagement with major figures of the era, such as Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
She pursued her own career as an author, writing works such as the novel Birds of a Feather (1867) and a travel book documenting her experiences in Sweden.
Margaret Howitt maintained a deep, supportive friendship with the American sculptor Margaret Foley), who was a prominent figure in the expatriate artist community in Rome. Foley developed a "filial" and close-knit relationship with the entire Howitt family, who became important patrons and advocates for her work. The Howitts’ home served as a social hub for many writers and artists in their circle.
In the 1870s, when Foley’s health began to decline due to a debilitating neurological condition, the Howitts provided significant support. In 1877, as her health worsened, Foley traveled with the Howitt family to the resort area of the Austrian Tyrol in hopes of recovery. Margaret Foley died in Meran, Austria, shortly after that trip in December 1877. In the aftermath, Margaret Howitt honored her friend’s memory by writing a poignant eulogy for The Art Journal in 1878.
The bond between the two women is also physically preserved in art; Foley famously created a detailed marble medallion portrait of Margaret’s mother, Mary Howitt, in 1875.
Other than Foley, Howitt was also friends with Fredrika Bremer and Jessie White Mario. Margaret Howitt thought Mario a rather wild person—smoked cigars, who entertained visitors at a table from which mountains of papers had first to be removed.
The relationship between the Howitt family and Fredrika Bremer was a central pillar of her international fame. While her mother, Mary Howitt, was instrumental in introducing Bremer’s work to the English-speaking world as her primary translator, the connection between Margaret Howitt and Fredrika Bremer was a deeply personal, hands-on experience. The most significant point of contact between the two occurred in the 1860s. Margaret Howitt, a writer in her own right, spent a full year living with Fredrika Bremer in Stockholm. This experience resulted in Margaret’s book, Twelve Months with Fredrika Bremer in Sweden (1866), published shortly after Bremer’s death. It provides a rare, intimate, and firsthand account of Bremer’s daily life, her personality, and her household routines during her final years. Unlike the more academic or literary focus of her mother’s translations, Margaret’s book captures the domestic reality and character of the aging author, offering readers a view of Bremer as a friend and mentor rather than just a famous literary figure.
Margaret Howitt played a crucial role in preserving her mother’s legacy, notably editing and completing Mary Howitt: An Autobiography, which was published posthumously in 1889.
Following her mother’s lead, Margaret converted to Roman Catholicism later in life. She spent much of her adult years traveling and living across Europe, including Switzerland, Italy, and the Austrian Tyrol, before passing away in Hayle, Cornwall, on April 8, 1930.
References:
 A Sisterhood of Sculptors: American Artists in Nineteenth-Century Rome Paperback – May 15, 2015 by Melissa Dabakis |
Other references:
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