According to a biographical note published in the British Australasian, Bertha Shelley 'was born in Australia and passed the early years of her life in Sydney where her father ... [Morris Birkbeck Pell (1827-1879)] was professor of mathematics at ... [Sydney] University ... Mrs Shelley had ample opportunity of making acquaintance with the many aspects of bush life in her girlhood, although of latter years she has resided in London and Paris.'
Shelley was, or was seen as, an expatriate.'Like many of Australian birth, the opportunities of following the movement of modern music, art, and literature have now practically enchained her to the old world.' Shelley may have published works in English periodicals. The biography informs the reader that '[s]he has found time to contribute short stories to monthly magazines, one of which, entitled 'Eldengart', attracted considerable attention when it appeared in Cassell's Magazine.' (18)
Source: 'A New Australian Novelist'. British Australasian (23 August 1906): 18
