South African botanical illustrator. Shortly after Marianne Fannin was born in Dublin, her family emigrated from Ireland to South Africa. They settled in Natal on a property on the Dargle, a tributary of the Mgeni River which her father named after a stream near Dublin. There her brother, George, developed a keen interest in the local flora, which she supported by pressing and painting the plants he sent to William Harvey at Trinity College, Dublin. Around the time of her first marriage (1869-1871), she painted an album of the flowers of Natal. After her husband's death, she lived for a time in England, where she studied music and painting, but returned to South Africa in 1875. She took up residence in Transvaal in 1878 and the following year married Rev. (later Archdeacon) Alfred Roberts. For 15 years (1881-1896) they lived in Potchefstroom, where they raised two sons, one of whom, Austin, later became an eminent ornithologist. While living in Transvaal, Marianne Roberts continued to paint wildflowers and landscapes. Some of her botanical paintings are kept at the School of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin, whilst her landscapes are in private collections in South Africa. A number of species are named after her including Disperis fanniniae Harv., Sisyranthus fanniniae N.E. Br. and Streptocarpus fanniniae Harv.