Elisabeth "Rosa" Coote is believed to be the true author of books written under the name "Rosa Belinda Coote" and published by William Dugdale, often attributed as the true author of this work. A newly discovered manuscript and letters in the remote Sicilian village of Monteconvento affirms that Elisabeth "Rosa" Coote was an actual writer and living at the time of the writing of The Convent School. This new novel, "The Mysteries: Pain & Pleasure within The Convent Walls" will be published by Black Fern, an imprint of Erosetti Press and authored by Dante Remy. Traditionally, Rosa Belinda Coote is known as a pseudonym for a fictional dominatrix appearing as a stock character in a number of works of Victorian erotica, including The Convent School, or Early Experiences of A Young Flagellant (as the notional author) by William Dugdale (now disprovent and "Letters to a Lady Friend" or "Miss Coote's Confession" in The Pearl. Henry Spencer Ashbee writes of The Convent School that "The book is not altogether badly written; no part of the narrative however is attractive". The reader should judge for themself. The surname "Coote" is taken from the historical General Sir Eyre Coote, who was disgraced in a flogging scandal in 1815. In "Miss Coote's Confession" the general is stated to be Rosa Coote's grandfather. The character is probably based on the real-life Theresa Berkley who ran a brothel in Soho in the 1830s.
