The daughter of Thomas Strickland of Reydon Hall, Suffolk, Agnes was educated by her father, and began her literary career with a poem, Worcester Field, followed by The Seven Ages of Woman and Demetrius. Abandoning poetry, she next produced, among others, Historical Tales of Illustrious British Children (1833), The Pilgrims of Walsingham (1835), Tales and Stories from History (1836). Her chief works, however, are Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest, and Lives of the Queens of Scotland, and English Princesses, etc.. (8 vols., 1850—1859), Lives of the Bachelor Kings of England (1861), and Letters of Mary Queen of Scots, in some of which she was assisted by her sister Elisabeth. Strickland's researches were laborious and conscientious, and she remains a useful source, but she failed to exercise the level of objectivity that a modern historian would aspire to. Her style is considered mediocre, by some, but writing should be compared only directly to that of the contemporaries of the time. Most of the Strickland sisters' historical research and writing was actually done by Elisabeth. Elisabeth however eschewed all publicity and Agnes was put forward as author. (See the National Dictionary of Biography for further detail.)

Two of Agnes's other sisters were also writers, Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, who are famous for their works about pioneer life in early Canada.

Biographies

• Lives of the Queens of England. 12 vols., 1840—1848
• The Letters of Mary Queen of Scots. 1842-1843
• Lives of the Queens of Scotland and English Princesses Connected with the Regal Succession of Great Britain. 8 Vols., 1851—1859
• Lives of the Bachelor Kings of England. 1861
• The Lives of the Seven Bishops Committed to the Tower in 1688. Enriched and Illustrated with Personal Letters, Now First Published, from the Bodleian Library. 1866
• Lives of the Tudor Princesses, Including Lady Jane Gray and Her Sisters. 1868
• Lives of the Last Four Princesses of the Royal House of Stuart. 1872

Children's books

• The Moss-House: In Which Many of the Works of Nature Are Rendered a Source of Amusement to Children. 1822
• The Tell-Tell. 1823
• The Aviary; Or, An Agreeable Visit. Intended for Children. 1824
• The Use of Sight: Or, I Wish I Were Julia : Intended for the Amusement and Instruction of Children. 1824
• The Little Tradesman, or, A Peep into English Industry. 1824
• The Young Emigrant. 1826
• The Rival Crusoes, or, The Shipwreck: Also A Voyage to Norway; and The Fisherman's Cottage : Founded on Facts. 1826
• The Juvenile Forget Me Not; Or, Cabinet of Entertainment and Instruction. 1827
• Historic Tales of Illustrious British Children. 1833
• Tales of the School Room. 1835
• Tales and Stories From History. 1836
• Alda, the British Captive. 1841