Catherine Anne Warfield, born Catherine Anne Ware in 1816, was a prominent nineteenth-century American poet and novelist from Mississippi. Alongside her sister, Eleanor Percy Lee, Warfield holds the distinction of being the first published author from the Percy family, a distinguished American literary family that would later produce celebrated twentieth-century writers such as William Alexander Percy and Walker Percy.
Warfield initially collaborated with her sister on poetry before transitioning to writing fiction. She achieved significant literary recognition with her first novel, The Household of Bouverie, which was published anonymously in 1860. The book became highly popular with the reading public, establishing her reputation and paving the way for her subsequent literary career.
Following the success of her debut, Warfield stepped out of anonymity to publish eight additional novels under her own name. Her active writing career contributed to the landscape of mid-nineteenth-century American literature until her death in 1877.
