Susan Edmonstone Ferrier

Scottish author
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Quick Facts
Born:
Sept. 7, 1782, Edinburgh, Scot.
Died:
Nov. 5, 1854, Edinburgh

Susan Edmonstone Ferrier (born Sept. 7, 1782, Edinburgh, Scot.—died Nov. 5, 1854, Edinburgh) was a novelist who made an incisive exposé of the pretensions of Scottish society in the early 19th century.

The daughter of James Ferrier, who was principal clerk of the Court of Session and a colleague of Sir Walter Scott, she was in touch with Edinburgh intellectual circles from her early years. Scott greatly admired her writing and in his Tales of My Landlord (1816–19) called her his sister shadow. Ferrier’s three anonymously published novels are distinguished by their vigour and sardonic wit. They are: Marriage (1818); The Inheritance (1824), often considered her best work; and Destiny; or, The Chief’s Daughter (1831).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.