| Postcards of the Past |
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| Marie Corelli |
| Click here to see our collection of old postcards of Marie Corelli. |
| If you would like to contribute to this page, please contact us ! |
Marie Corelli was born Mary Mackay, the daughter of Charles Mackay, a Scottish poet
and song-writer. She became a talented pianist in her early years and adopted the
pseudonym of Marie Corelli. Later she turned to writing romantic fiction. She moved to
Stratford in 1901 and bought Mason's Croft where she lived for many years. She
became a bit of a local legend in the town with her colourful life-style. My grandparents
often told me about her and her gondola in which she could regularly be seen on the
river. The postcards of her on this page have come down to me from my grandparents -
like the old theatre fire postcards, many Stratford people seem to have collected them.
Many of her books are in print - see the Amazon link at the bottom of this page if you
would like to sample her work.
One more point - old Stratford people will know that her name was always pronounced
"Marry", not "Maree" !
and song-writer. She became a talented pianist in her early years and adopted the
pseudonym of Marie Corelli. Later she turned to writing romantic fiction. She moved to
Stratford in 1901 and bought Mason's Croft where she lived for many years. She
became a bit of a local legend in the town with her colourful life-style. My grandparents
often told me about her and her gondola in which she could regularly be seen on the
river. The postcards of her on this page have come down to me from my grandparents -
like the old theatre fire postcards, many Stratford people seem to have collected them.
Many of her books are in print - see the Amazon link at the bottom of this page if you
would like to sample her work.
One more point - old Stratford people will know that her name was always pronounced
"Marry", not "Maree" !
Below are two photographs, sent to us by Richard Le Gallais, of Marie Corelli's pony
being attended to by a blacksmith. Richard is trying to identify the blacksmith, as his
father-in-law's father, Harold Furby, (incidentally the father of an old school-friend of
mine at KES), used to work for the blacksmith. As far as I can ascertain, the nearest
forge to Marie's house would have been on Sheep Street, which is where my
grandfather, Fred Jones, had his forge. This would have been the logical place for Marie
to send her pony to be shod and thus the blacksmith in the photos may well have been
my grandfather's predecessor at the Sheep Street premises, which I used to frequent as
a child in the 1940s. My grandfather died in 1947.
If you can identify the blacksmith, please contact us !!
being attended to by a blacksmith. Richard is trying to identify the blacksmith, as his
father-in-law's father, Harold Furby, (incidentally the father of an old school-friend of
mine at KES), used to work for the blacksmith. As far as I can ascertain, the nearest
forge to Marie's house would have been on Sheep Street, which is where my
grandfather, Fred Jones, had his forge. This would have been the logical place for Marie
to send her pony to be shod and thus the blacksmith in the photos may well have been
my grandfather's predecessor at the Sheep Street premises, which I used to frequent as
a child in the 1940s. My grandfather died in 1947.
If you can identify the blacksmith, please contact us !!
