Caffyn, Kathleen (1853–1926)
Caffyn, Kathleen (1853–1926)
Irish novelist. Name variations: Mrs. Mannington Caffyn; (pseudonym) Iota. Born Kathleen Goring in 1853 at Waterloo House, County Tipperary, Ireland; died in 1926; daughter of Louisa and William Hunt Goring; educated at home; married Stephen Mannington Caffyn (1850–1896).
Kathleen Caffyn authored 17 novels during a career in which she was noted for her skill at characterization and the intense romantic and sensual qualities of her books. Born in 1853 at Waterloo House, County Tipperary, she was the daughter of William and Louisa Hunt Goring. After receiving her education at home from English and German governesses, at the age of 21 Caffyn underwent nurses' training at St. Thomas' Hospital; she served a short nursing career before marrying the surgeon, writer, and inventor Mannington Caffyn. To accommodate Mannington's health, in 1880 the couple immigrated to Australia. Her stay there, which lasted several years, included Kathleen's contributions to some Australian newspapers. Caffyn's first novel, A Yellow Aster (1893), was enormously successful following the couple's return to Ireland. Usually writing under the pseudonym Iota, Caffyn wrote most of her books after her husband's death in 1896. Her works include: A Comedy in Spasms, Children of Circumstances, A Quaker Grandmother, Poor Max, Anne Mauleverer, The Minx, The Happiness of Jill, and Dorinda and Her Daughter.