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ArchivesA heroine named Leona?
My mother's middle name was Leona. She was born in 1920. My mom thought she got the name from a novel about a heroine named Leona. The only heroine I have found in history is Leona Vicario of Spain, but I don't think that's where she got it. She was a simple woman from a small town in Tennessee. Anybody out there know of a novel written around that time?
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Replies
There was a novel titled "Leona, or Shadows and Sunbeams" published in 1876. It was written by Ora Arrington, who was only 16 at the time. It's the first example I can find of a novel written in English that had "Leona" in the title, though of course there could be other novels where the heroine's name did not appear in the title.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3782361/miss-ora-arrington-age-16-of-sumter/
There was also a novel titled "Leona" published in 1892 by the British author Mary Louisa Molesworth, who was always credited on her books as "Mrs. Molesworth".
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn1sqp&view=1up&seq=8
Again, there may well have been other books with heroines named Leona where the name was not part of the title, but the existence of these two does show the name was used by authors in both the USA and Britain in the late 19th century.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3782361/miss-ora-arrington-age-16-of-sumter/
There was also a novel titled "Leona" published in 1892 by the British author Mary Louisa Molesworth, who was always credited on her books as "Mrs. Molesworth".
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn1sqp&view=1up&seq=8
Again, there may well have been other books with heroines named Leona where the name was not part of the title, but the existence of these two does show the name was used by authors in both the USA and Britain in the late 19th century.
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