An Original Government House Mauritius Letter written and Signed by Mary Anne Barker C1882. A letter from Barker discussing money matters and meeting up when she is back in England. Mary Anne Barker, Lady Barker 1831-1911, later Mary Anne Broome, Lady Broome, was an English author. She wrote mainly about life in New Zealand. Born Mary Anne Stewart in Spanish Town, Jamaica, she was the eldest daughter of Walter Steward, Island Secretary of Jamaica. She was educated in England, and in 1852 married Captain George Robert Barker of the Royal Artillery, with whom she had two children. When Barker was knighted for his leadership at the Siege of Lucknow, Mary Anne became "Lady Barker". Eight months later Barker died. Mary Anne Barker married Frederick Napier Broome. The couple then sailed for New Zealand. Both Mary Anne and her husband then became journalists. Still calling herself "Lady Barker", Mary Anne Broome became a correspondent for The Times and published two books of verse. When Frederick Broome was appointed Colonial Secretary of Natal in 1875, Lady Barker accompanied him there. Broome's subsequent colonial appointments had him travelling to Mauritius, Western Australia, Barbados, and Trinidad. Frederick Broome was knighted on 3 July 1884, and thereafter Mary Anne called herself "Lady Broome". She published the last of her 22 books, Colonial Memories under this name. After Sir Frederick Broome's death in 1896, Lady Broome returned to London, dying there on 6 March 1911. She is buried with her husband Frederick on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery. Size is 180mm x 115mm. Condition is good. Light folding creases.