WARD, MARY AUGUSTA HUMPHREY. — English writer, b. in Hobart (Tasmania) on 11 June 1851, d. in London on 24 March 1920, niece of Dr. Arnold of Rugby, brother of the poet Matthew Arnold.
She translated Amiel’s Journal intime (1885). In numerous novels she projected her religious and social problems. She cherished a form of philanthropic, non-denominational Christianity based purely on social grounds. She was an antifeminist and opposed the granting of the vote to women. Her best-known novel is Robert Elsmere (1888), which today chiefly interests readers for the historical figures discernible behind the fictional characters.
BIBL.: J. P. Trevelyan, Life of Mrs H. W., London 1923.