3-085-997 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Hall of Audience, 1898. Illustration by R. Caton Woodville, to a short story by Mrs. F. A. Steel. British writer Flora Annie Steel (1847-1929) lived in British India for 22 years. She was noted especially for books set in the Indian subcontinent or connected with it. In 1867 she married Henry William Steel, a member of the Indian Civil Service, and they lived in India until 1889, chiefly in the Punjab, with which most of her books are connected. She grew deeply interested in native Indian life and began to urge educational reforms on the government of India. She became an Inspectress of Government and Aided Schools in the Punjab. When her husband's health was weak, she took over some of his responsibilities. Steel was interested in relating to all classes of Indian society. The birth of her daughter gave her a chance to interact with local women and learn their language. She encouraged the production of local handicrafts and collected folk-tales, a collection of which she published in 1894. Steel co-authored and published The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook, which gave detailed directions to European women on all aspects of household management in India. From "Illustrated London News", 1898.