A chronological account of the authors life. For a commentary on the years 1855 to 1899, and 1899 to 1924, click on the menu sub-pages.

Marie Corelli's father, Charles Mackay, was a minor author, journalist and correspondent for newspapers and periodicals, including political and literary editor of the Illustrated London News. In 1832 he had married Rose Henrietta Vale, and by the the late 1830's they had four children; Charles Bruce [b.1833], George Eric [b.1835, known as Eric], Robert [b.1837], and Rosa Jane [b.1838]. 

1853 Charles Mackay starts an affair with another woman, Mary Elizabeth Mills, [known as Ellen].

1854 Charles is obliged to leave the family home and move into another house at 40 Camden Square, London.

1855 A girl is born on the 27th of April with the name Isabella Mary Mills. Her mother is Mary Elizabeth Mills, and the father is believed to be Charles Mackay. By 1856 mother and daughter are living at 24 Gloucester Crescent, Camden. [notes: This birth certificate was rejected following Marie Corelli's death. Bertha Vyver stated Marie's original name as Isabella Mary Mills, however Marie Corelli maintained that her birthday was 1st May, and preserved a poem by Charles Mackay stating as such.] An alternative theory is that a girl was born on 1st May 1854 called Caroline Cody, and taken in by Mills, later to be adopted by Charles Mackay when they married. [notes: a claim by the Cody family against the estate when Corelli died in 1924 was ruled to be invalid]

1856 Mackay's eldest son, Charles Bruce has emigrated to Canada. His brother Robert either travelled with him of followed shortly afterwards.

1859 Mackay's daughter Rosa dies aged 19 while visiting Naples with her mother Rose. Rose returns to London and dies the same year.

1861 In February, Mackay, aged 48, marries Mary Mills, aged 30; Mackay's address is now 18 Avenue Road, Regents Park. [note: census records at this time do not record the presence of his wife or daughter at this address].

1862 Mackay travels to New York with his wife and his daughter, known as Minnie, on a post with The Times reporting on the Civil War. [note: Marie Corelli did not admit to ever having visited America].

1863 Mackay returns to London with his wife and daughter, and then they all go back again to New York.

1865 Mackay and family return from America; the family move to Fern Dell Cottage, at Box Hill, near Mickelham.

1869 Minnie, aged 14, is sent to a catholic convent school. Corelli stated the convent school was in France where she learnt French. Recent research suggests she may not have been in France but may have attended Gumley House Catholic Convent school in Isleworth.

1871 First confirmed record of Minnie Mackay's existence, aged 16, in the 1871 census records.

1874 Minnie sends her first article for publication in January; a poem, using the name Vivian Earl Clifford, to Blackwoods Magazine in Edinburgh. It is not published. In July she sends a piece of prose to Temple Bar published by George Bentley; not published.

1876 Minnie's mother Mary dies and is buried in Mickelham churchyard. In either 1876 or 1877 Bertha Vyver, a childhood friend, moves into Fern Dell Cottage from her mothers home in Belsize Park, London.

1879 Minnie is reported to appear in charity theatre productions as 'Rose Trevor'.

1880 'Rose Trevor', the pianist, performs in Edinburgh and London.

1881 Performances by 'Rose Trevor in Dorking.

1882 Performances by 'Rose Trevor in Guildford and other locations in Kent. Sheet music published by Marie Corelli in The Graphic, 2nd December.

1883 Charles Mackay suffers a stroke in June. Minnie uses the name Marie di Corelli for the first time for a poem published in The Theatre.

1884 Charles, Minnie, and Bertha move back to London, settling in a house at 47 Longridge Road, Kensington. Eric Mackay arrives back from Italy. His father had supported him for five or six years while he believed Eric was training as a singer. Eric then survived teaching English and French, writing short articles for the press, and had spent some time in Venice as the secretary of William Perry. Minnie continues sending poems and other items for publication. In December she embarks on a short musical career, giving public piano recitals as Signorina Marie di Corelli.

1885 Minnie receives 10 guineas for an article on a grotto at Margate entitled One of the Wonders of the World published in the July issue of Temple Bar. She writes the manuscript for her first novel entitled Lifted Up. The title is changed at the suggestion of her father to The Romance of Two Worlds before it is sent to George Bentley's publishing house. His manuscript readers give very different reviews, including a negative one by the author Hall Caine. Bentley reads it himself and decides to publish. Marie Corelli receives £40, [about £4,000 in todays terms], plus £30 after 600 copies, and £30 after 750 copies. Minnie supplies biographical details of Marie Corelli to Bentley, in which she states that she has an Italian father, is descended from Arcangelo Corelli, and was educated in Italy and France. 

1886 The Romance of Two Worlds is published in February. The critics are generally dismissive, but misjudge the publics appetite for romance and mystery. Marie works on her second novel to be called Buried Alive. Bentley suggests a different title Vendetta, and it is published the same year. Marie Corelli travels to Tichnabruaich, Argyllshire, to stay with friends, also visiting The Kyles of Bute, Oban, Staffa, Iona, Loch Ness, the Caledonian Canal, and Inverness. Bertha stays in London with Mackay. The Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII, requests a copy of Vendetta.

1887 Marie writes her third novel Thelma, published in June, which is immensely popular. She is being talked about and receives numerous invitations that season to London society lunches. At one she meets Oscar Wilde who tells her 'Such alot of talking-about-you does more good than an infinite number of bad reviews'. Later that year he asks her to write for a new magazine about fashion and society, but the proposed venture is cancelled.

1888 Marie works on her fourth and most ambitious novel, Ardath. 

1889 Bentley initially states that Ardath is overwritten and too long, but  it is published in May. A copy of the book is sent to Gladstone, the eminent politician, who on 4th June calls at Longridge Road to meet Marie Corelli. Oscar Wilde calls on 16th June to tell her that he is enchanted by the book. Queen Margarita of Italy sends a signed photo and asks for a copy of The Romance of Two Worlds. Charles Mackay dies at home in December.

1890 Bertha Vyver's mother, the Contess Van de Vyver dies in May. Marie, Eric and Bertha take a break and spend ten days in Stratford-upon-Avon, staying at the Falcon Hotel opposite the site of William Shakespeare's home. They sign the visitors book at Shakespeare's birthplace on 20th May, go boating on the river, and visit the Flowers family at their house on the banks of the river Avon. Marie's fifth novel, Wormwood is published. In August, Marie and Bertha travel to Clarens, near Montreaux in Switzerland, and stay throughout the winter into the new year.

1891 Marie and Bertha return from Switzerland in March. Queen Victoria who has been lent a copy of The Romance of Two Worlds by the Duchess of Roxburghe, asks for a presentation copy, and that furthermore all of Marie Corelli's books are to be sent to her on publication. Marie is invited to Buckingham Palace to meet Empress Frederick, the eldest child of Queen Victoria, who is visiting from the continent.

1892 Marie's sixth novel, The Soul of Lilith is published and is an enormous success, except with the critics. In the summer, Marie and Eric, along with Marie's pet Yorkshire terrier named Czar, travel to Homburg; the fashionable spa resort and the German Imperial summer residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm is Empress Frederick's eldest son, and had acceded to the throne on the death of his father in 1888. The Prince of Wales is also visiting Homburg, staying opposite Marie and Eric. He has read Vendetta and, intrigued, invites Marie to dinner where they are said to have been equally charmed by each other. The Homburg elite receive Marie Corelli, and she and the Prince meet frequently. At the end of the season at Homburg, Marie and Eric travel back to England on the Royal train. In October, The Silver Domino is published by Lamley and Co; an anonymous satirical attack on the literary world written by Marie Corelli, allegedly with the collaboration of Eric Mackay, and Henry Labouchere, the editor of The Truth.

1893 Marie is invited to a Foreign Office reception where she meets the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, and his wife Lady Salisbury who tells her that everybody is reading The Soul of Lilith. Marie and George Bentley, her old and trusted publisher, part company over the controversy and bad feeling surrounding the The Silver Domino affair. Marie's seventh novel, Barrabas is published by Methuen in October to mixed reviews, but the public bought it.

1894 Following the success of Barrabas, Marie, Bertha and Eric go to the South of France for a holiday; to Marseilles and Cannes where they meet Edmund Yates, an influential journalist and reviewer, and one of Marie Corelli's critics. He is won over by her disarming personable manner, and the party travel on together to Antibes, San Remo, Genoa, and Pisa, after which Marie, Bertha and Eric continue on to Florence.

1895 The powerful circulating libraries had announced the previous year that from the beginning of 1895 they would no longer offer large advances to publishers for exclusive rights to novels published in the old three volume format. From now on, new books would appear in the cheaper one volume format, available both through the circulating libraries and from normal booksellers. Marie Corelli writes what will be her most successful novel, The Sorrows of Satan, which is published as a single volume priced at six shillings, (£30 in todays terms). She refuses to allow free copies to be sent out for reviews, and states as much in the front of the book. In fact the press give grudging approval to the books narrative skill and greatness of theme, including the critic WT Stead in his Review of Reviews.

1896  Marie writes The Murder of Delicia, The Mighty Atom, Ziska, and Cameos; a collection of short stories. In May of this year, the new Daily Mail newspaper is launched as an alternative to the serious reporting of the conventional press. Costing only 1/2d [about 20p today], and specialising in class-based politics and sensational gossip, sales are huge.

1897 Marie Corelli had given permission the previous year for Eric to organise for The Sorrows of Satan to be adapted for the stage by Herbert Woodgate and Paul Berton. She dismisses their poorly written version, but despite her protestations, it is performed at the Shaftsbury Theatre on 7th January with Lewis Waller as Lucio Rimanez, and Evelyn Millard as Lady Sybil Elton. Audiences laugh at the farcical production and it is a dismal failure. Marie suffers early in the year from headaches, overwork, and an internal complaint; she and Bertha go to Killiecrankie in Scotland for three months to rest. On their return Marie sits for two portraits for Bertha; one by Helen Donald Smith, and the other by Ellis Robert, but she is now suffering from severe bouts of pain. She is persuaded to consult the eminent surgeon, Sir John Williams who tells her she must consent to a major operation. Frightened she might die during the operation, she puts it off and goes to Hove for two months. She eventually consents to allow Dr Mary Scharlieb, a leading female abdominal surgeon, to undertake the operation in December.

1898 Marie convalesces at the Kings Hotel in Brighton for three months, engaging a secretary, Miss Gwendolyn Douglass, to help with her correspondence. Marie decides not to return to London, but to move to the Royal Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. Marie is shocked to receive a telegram from London saying that Eric had died of heart failure on 2nd  June. They return to London at once, but still weak from her operation, Marie collapses. She and Bertha travel by train to Killiecrankie again and stay for three months. On their return to London in September, Marie finds evidence in Eric's papers that he has been systematically cheating and defaming her. Not wanting to remain in London, they return once more to Brighton. Marie is still deeply distressed and unable to write. Dr Scharlieb recommends at least two years in the country. 

1899 Bertha suggests Stratford-upon-Avon, and Marie writes to Mrs Croker, the owner of Halls Croft, to ask for a furnished let for four months. Marie, Bertha, and Miss Douglas move there in mid-May. Sarah Bernhardt arrives in July to play at the Memorial Theatre in a production of Hamlet, and stays at Halls Croft. Marie enters into the social life of the town; she is frequently asked to be the guest of honour at public functions, opens bazaars, and gives public speeches. Marie and Bertha decide to stay in Stratford, and offer to buy Halls Croft but Mrs Croker wishes to return home. In September they move to The Dower House, then called Avon Croft, a few doors down the street, and stay through 1900 while they look for a suitable property. 

1900 In January, Marie hires the Memorial Theatre and pays for a party for 1,000 school children. She starts to write again, publishing Boy in June, and The Master Christian in August. A contemporary writer reported that The Master Christian sold nearly 260,000 copies in it's first year. Marie nearly purchases Alveston Leys, a house with lovely gardens on the banks of the Avon, but worrying it might be damp, she decides to lease Mason Croft in Church Street for 18 months with an option to buy. The house is a little dilapidated, and needs renovation work before it will be ready for the two ladies to move in.

1901 In January Marie and Bertha move into Mason Croft, a charming eighteenth century house with Tudor origins, and set about making it into their home. Queen Victoria dies the same month, and Marie writes The Passing of The Great Queen, a small booklet in her homage. Marie makes her first after-dinner speech as a guest of the Whitefriars Club, the London dining club with eminent and influntial patrons. She speaks eloquently in defence of 'women', almost convinicng Winston Churchill to drop his opposition to womens sufferage. Marie's secretary since 1898, Miss Douglass, had left in 1900 to get married and Marie engages Annie Davis, who writes occasionally for the Stratford Herald, as her secretary. They work mornings on Marie's fiction, and afternoons answering correspondence. In November Marie is asked to give her first public lecture at the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh. Her subject is 'The Vanishing Gift', or the inspiration behind creative work in art and literature.

1902 Marie successfully stirs up sentiment against the proposed siting of a memorial to the actress Helen Faucit opposite Shakespeare's bust in Holy Trinity Church, but starts to get a reputation for interfering. She is delighted to be invited to the coronation of King Edward the VII in August; she finds that she is the only author to attend. Afterwards Marie holidays in Aberdeen and goes to the Braemar games. In November, a pair of Shetland ponies arrive from Scotland which are used by Marie and Bertha to travel around town in a small chaise, or carriage. The ponies are given the names Puck and Ariel. Temporal Power is published. Methuen print 120,000 copies and Marie receives a £5,000 advance; about £500,000 in todays terms. 

1903 Archibald Flower had asked the American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1902 to fund a free Library in Stratford. A site is chosen close to Shakespeare's birthplace in Henley Street and five cottages are earmarked for demolition. Marie Corelli becomes embroiled in a controversy, protesting at the location of the library, so close to the birthplace, and reveals that one of the cottages had been occupied by the granddaughter of Shakespeare, Elizabeth Hall. In April she publishes The Avon Star, a guide to the theatre season, a collection on miscellaneous articles, but mainly a diatribe on the Henley Street controversy. She sues Fred Winter for libel after a contentious letter is published accusing her of hypocrisy. The case is heard by a packed court at Birmingham on the 16th December, many eager to see the famous novelist. Marie wins the case, but is only awarded a farthing in damages. While vindicating herself, she has succeeded in making enemies of many of the Birthplace Trustees, and influential figures in the town. Despite this, she shows her philanthropy by paying off the remaining outstanding debt on Holy Trinity church.

1904 Marie and Bertha holiday in Cornwall and Wales. In May, a venetian gondola, which Marie had purchased from an Italian Fair in London, arrives on the river accompanied by an Italian gondolier. Unfortunately he takes to drinking to excess with the local boating fraternity in the Dirty Duck, and after a fracas in the bar, Marie sends him back to Italy. Her gardener, Ernest Chandler, takes over duties as gondolier. Marie works on her next book, Gods Good Man. In September she engages the literary agent AP Watt to represent her and handle all her literary affairs. 

1905 Marie publishes Free Opinions Freely Expressed, with chapters on her favourite topics, what is wrong with society and the world, and what should be done about it. Archibald Watt gives Marie a specially bound presentation copy of the book to her on May 1st on her 50th birthday. In the summer, Marie attends Cowes Regatta as one of the guests of Thomas Lipton onboard his yacht 'Erin', a sumptuous and elegant 230ft long steam yacht. Onboard Marie meets an American couple, Mr and Mrs Edward Morris who she interests in the dilapidated state of Harvard House in Stratford which had belonged to Mary Harvard, the mother of the founder of Harvard University. Marie had bought it to save it from ruin, and suggests that the restoration could be a symbol of friendship between the nations. The American couple agree to help and pay for the restoration. 

1906 Marie publishes her next novel, The Treasures of Heaven with an authorised photograph of the author in the fronts-piece. In the summer, Marie and Bertha stay in the Lake District at Coniston, and ask to visit 'Brantwood' the home of John Ruskin. He had died in 1900, and the house was occupied by Arthur Severn who was married to Joan Ruskin, John Ruskin's cousin. Arthur Severn's father, Joseph, had travelled to Italy with Keats and nursed him at his death in Rome in 1821, and Marie was an ardent fan of the poet. The visitors are invited back to dine that evening and friendships are made. The Severns visit Marie and Bertha at Mason Croft in October. Marie develops a romantic obsession with Arthur Severn.

1907 An enterprising Stratford newsagent publishes a set of six coloured drawn postcards of Marie Corelli, much to her annoyance. In July, she invites Mark Twain, who is visiting Oxford, to come to Stratford for the day, laying on a special train.

1908 Holy Orders is published. During this period, Marie Corelli's income is estimated at about £18,000 per year, or about £1.8 million in todays terms. Marie Corelli's household includes her butler, Alfred Bridges, two maids, a cook, two gardeners, and her secretary Annie Davis.

1909 Marie organises the grand re-opening of Harvard House in October. The American ambassador, Whitelaw Reid, declares it 'free to all visiting sons of Harvard, and a rendezvous for all visiting Americans'. The house, a gift from Marie Corelli and Mr Morris, becomes the property of Harvard University. There is a lunch for 300 afterwards in the Music Room of Mason Croft, with songs and speeches. This is perhaps the most notable example of Marie's determination to preserve old buildings in the town.

1910 Marie Corelli manages to get Arthur Severn to finish a set of six watercolours to illustrate a new edition of the short story, The Devils Motor, first published in A Christmass Greeting in 1901.

1911 Marie publishes the Life Everlasting, set on a yacht in the Highlands and Western Isles, drawing in part for inspiration on her relationship with Arthur Severn.

1912 W.T. Stead, the famous reviewer and critic, calls on Marie at Mason Croft, and asks for forgiveness for the attacks he has made on her and her work. He dies shortly afterwards on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the SS Titanic. Marie succumbs to the modern world and buys a Daimler motor car with a specially made seat for her dog 'Czar' to look out of the window. A chauffeur, H Moore is added to the household. Marie organises a joint commission for a book on Willam Shakespeare, with text by Marie Corelli, and illustrations by Arthur Severn.

1913 Marie Corelli had campaigned for many years for a body to be established to help preserve historic buildings and the character of the town, and on 9th May the 'Guild of Stratford-on-Avon' meets for the first time.

1914 Marie writes Innocent, her 20th novel; a revealing and painful tale of love and betrayal. As always, she dictates her novels to her secretary Annie Davis, who types it up later, but still writes out the manuscript in a fair long-hand, and binds it with a ribbon. Unfortunately, Annie resigns from Marie's service in the summer when she feels her father has been slighted. Annie's father run's the boat business by the old ferry, and had proudly looked after Marie's punt and gondola for years. Marie had written rather abruptly telling Annie's father she was giving the care of gondola to Ernest, her gardener and gondolier. The gondola is put into store when Ernest is a called-up for the First World War.

1915 Stratford picture house is recorded as showing a silent film version of Vendetta. The Shakespeare book commission is abandoned as Marie and Arthur Severn's relationship deteriorates, and he fails to finish the illustrations.

1916 Marie goes on a tourism drive and attempts to help attract more visitors to Stratford by publishing a small pamphlet, With Shakespeare in His Garden, including buccolic descriptions of the towns riverside setting.

1917 Marie receives the sad news that Ernest Chandler has been killed in the war; she never uses the gondola again. In the autumn, following a bumper harvest of fruit from the orchard, Marie asks Thomas Lipton for some sugar for preserving, and to get around the sugar shortages due to rationing. Soon after she is accused of food hoarding and summarily convicted in the local magistrate's court on 2nd January 1918, apparently without taking account of evidence to the contrary from her staff. She is fined £50, plus 20 guineas costs. The press have a field day at her expense. As part of her war effort she offers the old Trinity School Building next door to her house, and now in her possession, as a convalescent home for wounded American soldiers.

1918 Marie publishes The Young Diana. The sales of The Sorrows of Satan, her best seller, are over 200,000 at this point, with many other of her titles having sold well over 100,000, however annual sales are declining as tastes in reading change, and Marie Corelli's style of writing falls out of fashion.

1919 Publishes My Little Bit, 50 articles written between 1914 and 1918 in support of or to raise money for the war effort. She finally changes her views on women's suffrage; whereas before she thought women could exert their influence over men, she now believes women should have it of right.

1920 Publishes The Love of Long Ago; a collection of short stories.

1921 The novel, The Secret Power is published; a work of science fiction with prophetic warnings. She presents a medal to the Grammar School to be awarded annually for the best essay on Shakespeare.

1923 Love and The Philosopher is published; the last novel before her death.

1924 Marie Corelli has a heart attack in January, and dies, aged 69, on Easter Monday, 21st April. The funeral at Holy Trinity, postponed until after the Shakespeare Birthday celebrations on the 23rd, is packed with mourners. Those present included; the publisher Sir Algenon and Lady Methuen, the Shakespearean scholar Sir Sidney Lee, Alexander Watt from her literary agents, the political cartoonist ET Reed, George Boyden, Fred Winter, Archibald Flower, her solicitor Percy Brentnall, her doctor Dr Murray, and her faithful staff. It is reported that Bertha was too upset to attend. The funeral cortege passes through the town, closed up in respect. Marie is buried in the main cemetery, close to the entrance on the Evesham Road, under a white marble monument bearing her name and a verse from one of her poems. In July the marble angel that Bertha had ordered from Italy arrives and is set up to watch over her tomb with one outstretched arm pointing the way to heaven. Marie Corelli's will, written in 1922, leaves her entire estate to Bertha Vyver for her lifetime. Thereafter Mason Croft is to become a trust, preserved in perpetuity for those visiting Stratford from abroad to use as a meeting place or for accommodation, as recommended by the Society of Authors. The will gives generous gifts of money and property to the staff. The Trustees of the will are Bertha, Alexander Watt, Percy Brentnall, and the secretary of the Society of Authors. 

1925 Bertha publishes Marie's last two book posthumously; Open Confessions, and Poems, and begins work on her own opus; her memoirs.

1927 A memorial party is organised by Bertha who invites many of Marie's friends; over 100 attend. The house remains as Marie had left it, with her bedroom and study daily aired and kept with flowers.

1930 Bertha publishes Memoirs of Marie Corelli.

1938 The royalties from Marie's work are slowly dwindling away, and Bertha, aged 84, is finding it hard to make ends meet.

1940 Brentnall and Watt see no alternative but to let Mason Croft, but Bertha is resolute in following Marie Corelli's wishes. The butler Alfred Bridges is in poor health, but the two maids, Augusta Threadgold and Bella Barber stay on at the house determined to keep Marie Corelli's memory alive.

1941 Marie's royalty income amounts to £29, or about £1300 today. Bertha dies on 20th November, aged 87, and is buried next to Marie Corelli. Bella Barbour is paid £1 a week, £46 in todays terms, to look after the house while the affairs are sorted out.

1943 Without enough funds to sustain the estate, and under pressure during wartime to allow Mason Croft to be requisitioned, the trustees are forced to apply to the courts as to what to do. In July, the court decides that Marie Corelli's will is null and void because the trust had been set up in part to benefit foreigners. The Treasury Solicitor determines that as there is insufficient income, the contents of the house can be sold. Over three days in October, the the entire contents of Mason Croft; the carefully collected furniture, effects, books and mementoes of the two women, the remnants of Marie Corelli's life and home are sold at knock-down prices. After paying outstanding debts, liabilities and taxes, £4,500 is raised from the sale. The Air Ministry take over the house.

1945 As the will was deemed to be invalid, the solicitors advertise for claimants to the estate, but though some claims are received, all are rejected. In absence of any heirs, a ruling is made in favour of the Crown as the beneficiary. The British Council are installed in Mason Croft.

1951 Birmingham University buys Mason Croft and establishes the Shakespeare Institute in the building.

1953 AP Watt & Son, the literary agents, reluctantly relinquish the copyright of Marie Corelli's work to Methuen for the sum of £750.

1955  The residuary of Marie Corelli's estate, the sum of £10,579, or about £243,000 today, is paid into the coffers of the Commissioners for Crown Lands.

Sources:

Manuscripts and letters in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust archives, Stratford-upon-Avon

Memoirs of Marie Corelli. B Vyver, Alston Rivers 1930
Now Barrabas was a Rotter. B Masters, Hamish Hamilton 1978
The Mysterious Miss Marie Corelli, Queen of Victorian Bestsellers. T Ransom, Sutton Publishing 1999

Jo Turner, Loughborough University.