Charlotte Maria Tucker, whose books were published under the acronym A.L.O.E. (A Lady of England), forged a successful and personally rewarding life and career both in England and India. She was the author of more than a hundred popular works of children's fiction (as well as nearly fifty fiction and nonfiction titles for adults) and was a respected missionary to India, even though she did not publish her first book until she was thirty and did not immigrate to India until age fifty-four.

Charlotte Maria Tucker was born on 8 May 1821 at Friern Hatch, Barnet, Hertfordshire. The daughter of Jane Boswell Tucker and Henry St. George Tucker, Charlotte Tucker was one of ten children. She corresponded extensively with her siblings and with other family members and friends, who saved her letters; she destroyed the letters she received from them, however. The available information about her life...