A Wreath of Indian Stories

Charlotte Maria Tucker (8 May 1821 – 2 December 1893) was a prolific writer and poet for children and adults, who wrote under the pseudonym A.L.O.E. (a Lady of England). Late in life she spent a period as a volunteer missionary in India, where she died.


Many of Tucker's most interesting stories are set in India. Some were translated into Indian languages. She set out for India in 1875, at the age of 54, having taught herself Hindustani. There she worked as a self-supporting volunteer missionary to Amritsar, Punjab, through the Indian Female Normal School and Instruction Society. Three years later she moved to nearby Batala, where she worked in a boys' school and as a teacher of Christian beliefs to native women. She died in Amritsar on 2 December 1893.