Amelia Barr wrote over 50 novels in a career that lasted 40 years, yet she is little known today. Her autobiography is as good as any of her novels, an engaging record of a long life. Born in England, she and her Scottish husband immigrated to the U.S. with two children when his business failed. The autobiography vividly describes her English childhood in settings that were the subject of many of her novels (Yorkshire, Isle of Man). Her married life was spent mostly in Austin, Texas, which is also entertainingly described. They lived there 10 years, including all of the Civil War. Married life ended when they moved to Galveston and Mr. Barr (and three of their six children) died of yellow fever. That was how Amelia Barr became a novelist, thrown on her own resources to take care of her remaining three children. Her tales of novel-writing for profit give an unusual view of what it was like to be a woman writer in late 19th century America. A good read, as are many of her novels.