| Caroline Leigh Gascoigne | |
| Birth Name: | Caroline Leigh Smith |
| Birth Date: | 2 May 1813 |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Death Date: | 11 June 1883 |
| Occupation: | poet, novelist |
| Language: | English |
| Nationality: | British |
| Children: | 3 |
Caroline Leigh Gascoigne (gas-koin′;, Smith; 2 May 1813 – 11 June 1883) was a 19th-century English poet and novelist. She published Temptation (1839), Evelyn Harcourt (1842), Dr. Harold's Note-Book (1869), and other works in prose and verse.
Caroline Leigh Smith was born 2 May 1813 in London, England. She was the daughter of MP John Smith, and his third wife Emma Leigh. Her early years were spent at her father's estate, Dale Park in Sussex. Her father was a rich banker but he was accidentally poisoned by his nearly-blind wife, who gave him an overdose of laudanum.[1] Her elder half brothers were the MPs John Abel Smith and Martin Tucker Smith.[2]
Gascoigne began writing fiction and poetry at an early age. In 1834, she married Lt.Col. (later, General) Ernest Frederick Gascoigne, MP for Liverpool, and there were three children from this union.[3]
Caroline Leigh Gascoigne died on 11 June 1883.[4]