{{Short description|English reviewer and novelist (1835–1895)}} {{Use British English|date=January 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Infobox writer |name = Lillian Spender |image = Lillian Spender (1835–1895).png |imagesize = |alt = |caption = |pseudonym = |birth_name = Lillian Headland |birth_date = {{birth date|1835|2|22|df=y}} |birth_place = London, England |death_date = {{death date and age|1895|5|4|1835|2|22|df=y}} |death_place = Bath, England |occupation = novelist |nationality = English |citizenship = |education = Queen's College, London |alma_mater = |period = |genre = |subject = |movement = |notableworks = |spouse = John Kent Spender (1858–1882) |partner = |children = J. A. Spender (1862–1942)<br/>Harold Spender (1864–1926)<br/>Hugh Frederick Spender (1873–1930)<br/>1 other son |relatives = Stephen Spender (grandson) |influences = |influenced = |awards = |signature = |website = |portaldisp = }} '''Lillian Spender''' (usually known as '''Mrs. John Kent Spender'''; 22 February 1835 – 4 May 1895) was an English writer. She contributed to major English reviews and turned later to novel-writing.

==Early years and education== Lillian (known informally as Lily) Headland was born on 22 February 1835 as the daughter of Edward Headland, a well-known physician of Portland Place, London. Her mother was the daughter of Ferdinand de Medina, a Spaniard. Spender was educated at Queen's College, Harley Street.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}

==Career== In 1858, she married John Kent Spender, physician to the Mineral Water Hospital, Bath.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}

After her marriage, Spender turned her attention to literature. She contributed to the ''London Quarterly Review'', the ''English Woman's Journal'', the ''Dublin University Review'', the ''British Quarterly Review'', and a magazine called ''Meliora'', but after 1869, she mainly wrote novels. She was active in education and social work in Bath until her health failed.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}

Lillian Spender died at Bath on 4 May 1895. Seven of Spender's eight children survived her. Two of her sons, J. A. Spender and Harold Spender, became London journalists.{{sfn |Carlyle |1898}}

==Selected works== *''Brothers-in-Law'' (1869) *''Her Own Fault'' (1871) *''Parted Lives'' (1873) *''Jocelyn's Mistake'' (1875) *''Mark Eylmer's Revenge'' (1876) *''Both in the Wrong'' (1878) *''Godwyn's Ordeal'' (1879) *''Till Death Us Do Part'' (1881) *''Gabrielle de Bourdaine'' (1882) *''Mr. Nobody'' (1884) *''The Recollections of a Country Doctor'' (1885) *''Trust Me: A Novel'' (1886) *''Her Brother's Keeper: A Novel'' (1887) *''Kept Secret'' (1888) *''Lady Hazelton's Confession'' (1890) *''A Waking'' (1892) *''A Strange Temptation'' (1893) *''A Modern Quixote'' (1894)

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== * {{DNB|first=Edward Irving |last=Carlyle | author-link = E. I. Carlyle |wstitle=Spender, Lily|volume=53}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spender, Lillian}} Category:1835 births Category:1895 deaths Category:19th-century English women novelists Category:19th-century English novelists Category:Victorian novelists Category:Victorian women writers Category:19th-century pseudonymous women writers Category:19th-century pseudonymous writers Lilian