pen name of Maria Louise
de la Ram?e (1839-1908), an
English author best known for her extravagant and exceedingly dramatic
romance stories of fashionable
life. In 1863 her first
novel appeared under the
title Held in Bondage and she took on the
pen name Ouida, fashioned after the
pronunciation of her middle name in childhood. Her
fourth novel, Under Two Flags (1867), is her most famous
work and established her reputation and literary acclaim.