Better known for their tales of an Irish R. M. (resident magistrate), which were adapted into a successful TV series starring Peter Bowles, Somerville and Ross outraged their respective families – who referred to them ‘the Shockers’ – by combining travel writing with the fight for Women’s Suffrage. The contrast between the emancipated pair and the largely unreconstructed characters they encounter on their travels only serves to heighten the charm of an already indelibly charming book. ABOU...

This novel, according to Somerville, "concerns the history of one of those minor dynasties that, in Ireland, have risen, and rules, and rioted, and crashed in ruins." "Somerville and Ross know their world as well as Jane Austen knew hers."-John Bayley.

A masterpiece of Irish literature of the Victorian Age, The Real Charlotte draws characters from the worlds of Anglo-Irish aristocracy and the native Irish peasantry. “Delightful.”-The Guardian.

The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them are Somerville & Ross - the writing pseudonym for Edith Somerville & Violet Florence Martin Sidney Benson Thorp.

The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them are Somerville & Ross - the writing pseudonym for Edith Somerville & Violet Florence Martin Sidney Benson Thorp.

BBC productions of the best-known works of Somerville and Ross, plus a docudrama about their remarkable literary partnershipEdith Œnone Somerville and 'Martin Ross' (the pen name of Violet Florence Martin) were cousins, born into the Irish landed gentry in the mid-19th century. They began writing books together as a joke, but quickly developed into serious artists, producing several works now recognised as classics such as The Real Charlotte and Some E...