Evelyn Whitaker: Difference between revisions
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'''Evelyn Whitaker''' (1844 - 1929) was an English novelist. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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| ⚫ | Whitaker was born in Herne Bay, Kent and died in Hammersmith, London at the age of 84. She remained a spinster all her life often living with one or more of her sisters. All her works were published anonymously and the identity of the author of ''Tip Cat'' was not revealed until after her death. Her nineteen novels and several shorter stories were issued by multiple publishers in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[Australia]], [[Canada]] and the [[United States]] from 1879-1915. Many of these editions were beautifully bound and illustrated. The novels were intended for children and young adults but were also widely read by adults, particularly women. |
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Evelyn Whitaker's writing style was praised as "a study in English for its conciseness, simplicity, and elegance"<ref>[http://evelynwhitakerlibrary.org/ Profile]</ref> and ''Tip Cat'' was adopted as a text book for German students studying English.<ref> ''Tip Cat'' by the author of ''Lil, Pen, Our Little Ann, Dear, etc. etc.'' Herausgegeben von Geh. Rat Prof. Dr. K Horst. Bielefeld und Leipzig: Velhagen & Klasing, 1930. </ref>Her stories were described as "charming, pure, and wholesome," full of "humor and pathos." |
Evelyn Whitaker's writing style was praised as "a study in English for its conciseness, simplicity, and elegance"<ref>[http://evelynwhitakerlibrary.org/ Profile]</ref> and ''Tip Cat'' was adopted as a text book for German students studying English.<ref> ''Tip Cat'' by the author of ''Lil, Pen, Our Little Ann, Dear, etc. etc.'' Herausgegeben von Geh. Rat Prof. Dr. K Horst. Bielefeld und Leipzig: Velhagen & Klasing, 1930. </ref>Her stories were described as "charming, pure, and wholesome," full of "humor and pathos." |
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Although sometimes attributed to her, Evelyn Whitaker is not the author of ''Honor Bright, or the four leaved shamrock'' and ''Gilly Flower'' (1889). A number of books by Evelyn Whitaker have been digitized and are available on-line. <ref>[http://www.evelynwhitakerlibrary.org/id4.html Whitacre library] |
Although sometimes attributed to her, Evelyn Whitaker is not the author of ''Honor Bright, or the four leaved shamrock'' and ''Gilly Flower'' (1889). A number of books by Evelyn Whitaker have been digitized and are available on-line. <ref>[http://www.evelynwhitakerlibrary.org/id4.html Whitacre library] |
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==Books== |
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==Titles and year of first publication== |
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*1879 ''Laddie'' |
*1879 ''Laddie'' |
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Revision as of 21:04, 12 July 2011
Evelyn Whitaker (1844 - 1929) was an English novelist.
Background
Whitaker was born in Herne Bay, Kent and died in Hammersmith, London at the age of 84. She remained a spinster all her life often living with one or more of her sisters. All her works were published anonymously and the identity of the author of Tip Cat was not revealed until after her death. Her nineteen novels and several shorter stories were issued by multiple publishers in Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States from 1879-1915. Many of these editions were beautifully bound and illustrated. The novels were intended for children and young adults but were also widely read by adults, particularly women.
Evelyn Whitaker's writing style was praised as "a study in English for its conciseness, simplicity, and elegance"[1] and Tip Cat was adopted as a text book for German students studying English.[2]Her stories were described as "charming, pure, and wholesome," full of "humor and pathos."
For more than a decade after Evelyn Whitaker's death, her two most popular titles, Miss Toosey's Mission and Laddie, continued to be reissued as gift books. Such little novels with religious or moral themes were given as Sunday School prizes, often as attendance awards. Such books where generally inexpensively made with inferior paper, ink, and illustrations but with attractive bindings. The ornate bindings made up half the production costs.
Major themes
Evelyn Whitaker's novels demonstrate intimate knowledge of life both in a vicarage and in a doctor's household and these homes are frequently the settings of her novels. Her religious view was traditional Anglican and that perspective informs her writing. In Miss Toosey's Mission, Tip Cat, and Lil she comments on Puseyites, Dissenters, and Methodism.
The works of Evelyn Whitaker portray a fondness for the childhood nursery, dogs, and flowers. The author makes frequent use of the Victorian Language of flowers. She relates the blessings and burdens of children, rich and poor. She knows the streets of London and the rustic beauty of the countryside. She observes the plight of the urban poor, the rural worker displaced by industrialization, the mill worker, and the late 19th Century woman who might wish for a better education and more economic opportunity.
Having spent her whole life in the service of the sick Evelyn Whitaker was familiar with sick rooms, hospitals, and death and she often includes these settings and events in her novels.
Tip Cat (Scarlet fever), Gay (Diphtheria), and Lassie (Typhoid) present descriptions of fever epidemics and public health and hygiene education. Gay provides details of home nursing care, quarantines, and a visit to the London Fever Hospital at Homerton. Pen and Lassie include the effects of Alcoholism on family life. Laddie and Lassie present a study in gender differences in the care of aging parents.
Although sometimes attributed to her, Evelyn Whitaker is not the author of Honor Bright, or the four leaved shamrock and Gilly Flower (1889). A number of books by Evelyn Whitaker have been digitized and are available on-line. [3]
Books
- 1879 Laddie
- 1884 Tip-Cat
- prior to 1883Miss Toosey's Mission
- 1889 Lil
- 1885 Our Little Ann
- 1890 Zoë
- 1891 Pen
- 1891 Rose and Lavender
- 1892 Pris
- 1892 Dear by the author of Tip-Cat
- 1892 Baby John. Boston: Roberts Brothers
- 1894 Pomona
- 1895 My Honey London: A. D. Innes; Boston: Roberts Brothers
- 1895 Don
- 1898 Belle. W. & R. Chambers. Boston: Little, Brown
- 1898 Rob. . W. & R. Chambers
- 1900 Tom's Boy
- 1901 Lassie W. & R. Chambers
- 1902 Faithful Boston: Little, Brown
- 1903 Gay W. & R. Chambers
- For the Fourth Time of Asking
Illustrators
- Pomona, 8 illustrations, W. & R. Chambers. R. Barnes
- Zoë, W. & R. Chambers, 1890. R. Barnes
- Rose and Lavender, four illustrations, W&R Chambers, n.d. (c. 1910). Herbert A. Bone
- Laddie & Miss Toosey's Mission, frontis, Henry Altemus, n.d. Walter Cooper Bradley,
- Tip Cat, W. Smith, 1880. Randolph Caldecott. George Reiter Brill
- Tip Cat, (copper engraving)W. Smith,1880. J.D. Cooper
- My Honey, frontis, Ward Lock,1910. Sidney Cowell
- Laddie (the Editha Series,) H. M. Caldwell, 1905. Eliot Keen
- Don, frontis & 8 illus, W&R Chambers, 1895. J Finnemore
- Belle, 6 illus,W&R Chambers. G. Nicolet
- Laddie, frontis + 3 others plates B&W, E. P. Dutton, 1891. H. Winthrop Pierce
- Tom's Boy, 8 illustrations, W&R Chambers,1900. Percy Tarrant (Margaret Tarrant's brother: Margaret illustrator of Ward & Lock's Fairy Tales, 48 plates, 1919 but may be a reissue)
- Gay,6 illus., W&R Chambers Percy Tarrant (Margaret Tarrant's brother: Margaret illustrator of Ward & Lock's Fairy Tales, 48 plates, 1919 but may be a reissue)
- Gay: a story, Little, Brown, 1903 Percy Tarrant (Margaret Tarrant's brother: Margaret illustrator of Ward & Lock's Fairy Tales, 48 plates, 1919 but may be a reissue)
- Zoë, Henry Altemus, 1899. W H Listern
- Lassie, frontis, W&R Chambers, n.d. Jessie Wilson. W. Rainey
- Lassie, Little Brown, 1903. Jessie Wilson. W. Rainey
- Baby John, Zoë, For the Fourth Time of Asking, Little Brown, 1903. J. Harley
- Rob, Ward & Lock. J. Williamson
References
- ^ Profile
- ^ Tip Cat by the author of Lil, Pen, Our Little Ann, Dear, etc. etc. Herausgegeben von Geh. Rat Prof. Dr. K Horst. Bielefeld und Leipzig: Velhagen & Klasing, 1930.
- ^ Whitacre library