Mary Kirby (3) (1817–1893)

Mary Kirby, later Gregg, and her younger sister Elizabeth Kirby (1823-1873) were born and educated in Leicester, England. After the death of their father in 1848, they were forced earn their own living. They did this by writing and illustrating numerous natural science books and fiction, mostly aimed at children, together over a period of 25 years. In 1860, Mary married the Rev. Henry Gregg, rector of Brooksby, a rural parish, and her sister Elizabeth came to live with the couple for the rest of her life. The two sisters wrote 24 books, some of them consisting of multiple volumes, such as Plants of Land and Water (1857) and including The Italian Goldsmiths, a Story of Cellini (1861), The Sea and Its Wonders (1871), Chapters on Trees (1873), and Hummingbirds (1874). The sisters also published a number of serial tales, including "The Desboroughs" and "Deepdale Vicarage," in various magazines. Each sister also published works independently. Mary's first effort, A Flora of Leicestershire (1850) arose from her botanical interests. It catalogued over nine hundred flowering plants and ferns from the Leicestershire countryside. She was devastated by the death of Elizabeth in 1873. Mary published her autobiography, Leaflets of My Life, in 1888.