Margaret Fane

Not to be confused with Lady Margaret Fane (1772-1855), wife of Arthur Onslow, 3rd Earl of Onslow.

Margaret Fane (born Beatrice Florence Osborn, 10 January 1887 – 1962) was an Australian novelist and poet. Her short stories were published in the Sydney Mail, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin and the Australian Woman's Mirror. She co-wrote The Happy Vagabond with Hilary Lofting (1928).

Margaret Fane
Born	Beatrice Florence Osborn (1887-01-10)10 January 1887 Camberwell, Victoria, Australia
Died	1962 (aged 74–75) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation	Novelist, poet
Genre	Short story, poetry
Notable works	The Happy Vagabond (1928, co-author)
Spouse	David McKee Wright (1912–1918) Hilary Lofting (1918–1939; his death)

Early life

She was born in Camberwell, a suburb of Melbourne, to English and Spanish Australian parents. Her father was born in British Ceylon, and arrived in Australia as a child. As a girl, Fane had aspired to be an opera singer like her mother. However, under the influence of her father, who liked literature, she became well versed in the works of Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare, eventually becoming a writer herself.^[1]

Personal life

In 1912, Fane married David McKee Wright (1869–1928), editor of The Bulletin. She gave birth to their four sons. She divorced Wright in 1918. Fane remarried, marrying Hilary Lofting (1881–1939, the eldest brother of Hugh Lofting). Her second marriage stimulated Fane's creative impulses.^[2] She and Hilary published short stories in various publications, including The Sydney Mail, The Sydney Morning Herald and other magazines.

She died in 1962, in Brisbane, Australia.^[3]

Work

• The Happy Vagabond (1928, co-authored with Hilary Lofting)

See also

• List of Australian novelists