Mary Beaumont was the pseudonym of Rosa Oakes (née Mellor, 1849–1910), a minor Victorian author. Life Beaumont was from Halifax in Yorkshire, England. Her father, Enoch Mellor, was a clergyman. Enoch and his wife Caroline raised their daughter in a family atmosphere that has been described as "a combination of piety and intellectual discovery." In 1874, Beaumont married the manufacturer John Oakes; they had two daughters. Beaumont was lifelong friends with Robert Forman Horton (1855–1934), a leading nonconformist minister. Beaumont and her husband lived with Horton from 1902 until Beaumont's death in 1910. Beaumont had begun writing at a young age, publishing some poetry in magazines by the time she was nineteen. However, ill health interfered with her writing, and she was not able to pursue authorship in earnest until the 1890s. In his 'Autobiography', published in 1917, Robert Forman Horton confessed to having been in love with Beaumont/Oakes, who he referred to as 'my friend' throughout the book. Horton and Beaumont wrote poetry to each other, some of which was published under the title 'Poems by two friends'. Works Beaumont's first published works appeared in the Christian-themed Sunday Magazine, edited by Thomas Guthrie. One of her later works, The Valley of Stars, was published as a serial. In addition to publishing her work in periodicals, Beaumont published at least three volumes: A Ringby Lass and Other Stories (1895), the novel Joan Seaton (1896), and Two New Women and Other Stories (1899). In addition to painting a vivid picture of her native Yorkshire, many of her works show Victorian attitudes towards social issues like colonialism and women's emancipation. A Ringby Lass and Other Stories (1895) This collection includes five short stories: "A Ringby Lass," "Jack," "The White Christ," "Miss Penelope's Tale," and "The Revenge of Her Race." The title story, "A Ringby Lass," is set in Beaumont's native Yorkshire, as is the story "Jack." Macmillan issued this story collection as the fifth installment in its "Iris Series." As such, it was nicely bound, with illustrations by I. Walter West. The book's attractive physical format was part of its appeal, with the New York Times noting its "charming" format and "delicate illustrations." Based on its publication history, "The Revenge of Her Race" seems to be the most widely-read story in this volume. It was popular enough that it was reprinted in Stories by English Authors: The Orient, a 1902 collection that