Born Alice Mangold in 1844
at Park Lane, Aveley the daughter of Eliza Vidal
and Carl Mangold. Her parents lived most of the
time in London where her father taught music.
Alice spent her summers in Aveley with her
grandparents and was very fond of her grandfather
but after his death in 1862 spent less time in
Aveley. In 1852, age
8, Alice had a book of poems published under a
pseudonym but her music career began when her
parents sent her to Germany to be taught by
Adolphe Henselt a former fellow student of her
fathers. Her performing career began in 1861 in
Paris, she then came to London where she
continued to play until age 28 when she gave her
last recital at Crystal Palace in 1872. From this
time onwards she seems to have preferred teaching
music.
In 1863 she married the
violinist/composer Louis Diehl a match that her
mother did not approve of but which was a great
success.
It was in about 1872 that
Alice began writing short stories at first then
novels like “The Garden of Eden” in
1882 and she continued so to do until just before
her death on 13th June 1912 writing over 40
novels.
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