Jessie Fothergill (1851 - 1891) was an English novelist best known for the novel The First Violin. Born in Cheetham Hill, she spent most of her young years in Bowden near Manchester. She first visited Germany in 1874 and began writing immediately after this trip. She devoted the rest of her life to writing, living chiefly abroad. Her subject matter includes depictions of factory life in cotton mills where she grew up and her experiences abroad, along with enthusiastic descriptions of music.