O'Keeffe, Adelaide (1776–c. 1855)

Irish poet and novelist. Name variations: Adelaide O'Keefe. Born on November 5, 1776, in Dublin, Ireland; died probably in 1855; daughter of John O'Keeffe (an actor turned playwright); never married; no children.

Selected works:

Original Poems Calculated to Improve the Mind of Youth (1808); National Characters Exhibited in 40 Geographical Poems (1808); Patriarchal Times; or the Land of Canaan (1811); Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra (1814); Poems (1819); Dudley (1819); Poems for Young Children (1849); The Broken Sword: A Tale (1854).

Born in Ireland in 1776, Adelaide O'Keeffe was the daughter of John O'Keeffe, who in 1780 moved his family to London, where he wrote popular comic plays for the Haymarket, Covent Garden, and Drury Lane theaters. While somewhat overshadowed by her famous father, as an adult O'Keeffe emerged as a poet and author in her own right. In 1804, she contributed 34 poems to Original Poems for Infant Minds, compiled by Ann and Jane Taylor . Signed simply "Adelaide," these poems remain perhaps her most well-known work. O'Keeffe continued to write poetry for children, including Original Poems Calculated to Improve the Mind of Youth (1808), National Characters Exhibited in 40 Geographical Poems (1808), and Poems for Young Children (1849), and also wrote a number of books for adult readers, including Patriarchal Times; or The Land of Canaan (1811), Zenobia , Queen of Palmyra (1814), and the three-volume novel Dudley (1819). O'Keeffe never married, and before her father died in 1833 she spent much of her time caring for him. Her last novel, The Broken Sword: A Tale, was published in 1854, and she is thought to have died the following year.

Jacqueline Mitchell , freelance writer, Detroit, Michigan