Mary Hughes in the Databases

Mary Hughes in World Cat

Hughes is conflated in all databases and library catalogs (all have taken their cue from the British Library) with another writer named Mary Hughes, who later married and became Mary Hughes Robson. She published under “Aunt Mary” mostly through Darton, the Quaker publisher, at the same time and place as Mary Hughes. The confusion is understandable, for, much like the works of Elizabeth Coltman, which appeared anonymously or only with her initials, Hughes’s works also appeared anonymously, causing librarians in later years to erroneously conflate the two into one composite writer. This website separates the two for the first time.

Works by Mary Hughes Robson:

Aunt Mary’s Tales, for the Entertainment and Improvement of Little Girls (1813).

Aunt Mary’s Tales, for the Entertainment and Improvement of Little Boys (1815)

The Alchemist (1818)

The Ornament’s Discovered: A Story founded on Facts (1815, 1819, 1833) (no. 18 of the Boys and Girls Library)

Stories for Children; Chiefly confined to words of Two Syllables (1819).

Pleasing and Instructive Stories for Young Children (1821)

The Rebellious School-Girl; a Tale (1822)

A Story (1822)

The Good Grandmother: or, A Visit to my Uncle’s (1822).

The Life of William Penn, abridged and adapted to the Use of Young Persons (1822. 1828

Something New from Aunt Mary (c. 1830)

Works by Mary Hughes conflated with those of Mary Hughes Robson:

The Sunday Scholar

The Twin Brothers

The Sick Man’s Friend

Sick-Room Dialogues

Advice to Female Servants

Village Dialogues

William’s Return

Henry Goodwin

Family Dialogues (1823)

An Address to the Teachers of Sunday Schools (1828)

Advice to Female Servants: In Letters from an Aunt to a Niece (Christian Tract Society, 1825)

Works appearing under “Mrs. Hughs”

William’s Return

Friendly Advice to the Unlearned

Edward the Sunday Scholar

Henry Goodwin (appears anonymously)