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Bessie Lee Bessie Lee i(A29651 works by) (birth name: Bessie Vickery) (a.k.a. Bessie Cowie; Bessie Lee Cowie; Betsy Lee)
Also writes as: Colonial Quizzo ; Sarah Pumpkin ; Mrs Harrison Lee ; Mrs Harrison Lee Cowie
Born: Established: 10 Jun 1860 Daylesford, Daylesford area, Creswick - Daylesford area, Ballarat - Bendigo area, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 18 Apr 1950 Pasadena, California,
c
United States of America (USA),
c
Americas,
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

'Bessie Lee had little formal schooling but read voraciously. She experienced a religious conversion before her teens. Despite her ill health, she launched a career of public speaking and started the Pioneer Woman's Christian Temperance Union 1887 (Victoria). She wrote for the newspapers and the temperance press. After her husband's death, she married a wealthy New Zealander who had been attracted by her campaigning. She hesitated and accepted when he agreed to respect her work.' (Source: Johnson-Woods, T. Index to Serials. Canberra: Mulini Press, 2001 p. 112)

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • See also the full Australian Dictionary of Biography Online entry for Lee, Betsy (Bessie)
  • Lee also wrote several non-fictional works, including Marriage, Heredity and the Social Evil (1890), Sunshine from Southern Skies (1908), and the two autobiographical works, One of Australia's Daughters (1900) and One of God's Lamplighters (1902).
Last amended 12 Apr 2011 10:40:30
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