Marie Corelli — British Novelist of the Early 20th Century
She was also very fond of taking people to court…
Marie Corelli (real name Mary MacKay) was often two-faced and careless with the truth. She was extraordinarily Shakespearean, and, in 1900, decided she wanted to build a free library in Stratford, bearing her name, which was a noble thought. So she contacted an old friend, Fred Winter, a local store owner and part time real estate agent to find out the cost of a plot of land adjoining the Technical School in Henley Street, just fifty yards from Shakespeare’s Birthplace. When Fred Winter informed Corelli of the price she immediately changed her mind saying the plot was too expensive. Fred then persuaded Archibald Flower to buy the land, who then gave it to Stratford Town Council with the clear instruction that they contact Andrew Carnegie to see if he would like to build a free library on the site. They, and Carnegie, agreed. So far so good? Well, almost.
When Corelli heard about the plans (which included knocking down some cottages between Shakespeare’s Birthplace and the site of the library to create a fire-break) she complained bitterly, and very publicly, that the cottages were of great historical importance (doubtful) and that the ignorant peasants of Stratford didn’t need a library, especially one built by Carnegie, a man she hated.
