Ellen Davitt was an Australian writer who was born in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire in 1812. Born Marie Antoinette Hélène Léontine (Ellen) Heseltine, she married Arthur Davitt, an educationalist, in Jersey in 1845. The couple arrived in Australia on 31 July 1854 with the aim of opening a new Model School. However, internal disagreements and a financial recession resulted in the discharge of the Davitts in 1859. Arthur contracted tuberculosis and died in 1860. Ellen continued to teach and also began writing after his death.