Mary Theresa Vidal

Who was Mary Theresa Vidal?

Mary Theresa Vidal was a British-Australian writer described as Australia's first female novelist.

Mary was the daughter of Britton William Johnson and his wife, Mary Theresa, daughter of P. W. Furse. She was a sister of William Johnson, author of Ionica, who took the name of Cory in 1872. She married the Rev. Francis Vidal and came to Australia in 1840. Her husband had an extensive parish to the south-west of Sydney. In 1845 her first book, Tales for the Bush, was published in Sydney and soon afterwards she returned with her husband to England. Ten other volumes of tales and novels were published between 1846 and 1866 in which the author sometimes made use of her experiences in Australia. Some of these books ran into more than one edition. She died in 1873 and was survived by her husband, six sons and a daughter.