Mary Theresa Vidal (nee Johnson) (1815-1873) was a British-Australian writer described as Australia's first female novelist. She married the Rev. Francis Vidal and came to Australia in 1840. In 1845 her first book, Tales for the Bush, was published in Sydney and soon afterwards she returned with her husband to England. Ten other volumes of tales and novels were published between 1846 and 1866 in which the author sometimes made use of her experiences in Australia. Some of these books ran into more than one edition. Amongst her other works are The Convict Laundress (1852), Florence Templar (1856), Home Trials (1858), Bengala (1860) and Lucy Helmor (1863).