The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts (1900) by Abbie Farwell Brown

Abbie Farwell Brown (August 21, 1871March 5, 1927) was an American author.

Biography

Brown was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, the first of two daughters of Benjamin F. Brown, a descendant of

Isaac Allerton Isaac Allerton Sr. (c. 1586 – 1658/9), and his family, were passengers in 1620 on the historic voyage of the ship ''Mayflower''. Allerton was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. In Plymouth Colony he was active in colony governmental affair ...

, and Clara Neal Brown, who contributed to ''

The Youth's Companion ''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with ''The American Boy'' in 1929. ...

''. Her sister Ethel became an author and illustrator under the name Ann Underhill. Her family, for ten generations, had only resided in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and Brown herself spent her entire life in her family's Beacon Hill home. Brown was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of the Bowdoin School in 1886. She then attended the Girls' Latin School, where she was friends with

Josephine Preston Peabody Josephine Preston Peabody (May 30, 1874 – December 4, 1922) was an American poet and dramatist. Biography Peabody was born in New York and educated at the Girls' Latin School, Boston, and at Radcliffe College. In 1898, she was introduced ...

. She was the driving force behind the newly created school newspaper, ''The Jabberwock'', named by Brown after the poem by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

. They wrote to Carroll for permission to use the name and Carroll wrote back, wishing them "all success to the forthcoming magazine". The school, now Boston Latin Academy, still publishes ''The Jabberwock''. After graduating in 1891, she attended

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, graduating in 1894. While at Girls' Latin School, she was contributing pieces to '' St. Nicholas Magazine'', some illustrated by her sister. Starting in 1898, under the pen name ''Jean Neal'' she wrote articles for the ''

St. Louis Globe-Democrat The ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1852 until 1986. When the trademark registration on the name expired, it was then used as an unrelated free historically themed paper. Orig ...

''. She also wrote a one-act comedy called ''Quits'' (1896) set at a women's college. Chester Cathedral misericord Hamilton 0172

Her first children's book, ''The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts'' (1900) was inspired by her first trip abroad, specifically by the carved

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

depicting the life of Saint

Werburgh Werburgh (also ''Wærburh'', ''Werburh'', ''Werburga'', meaning "true city"; ; c. AD 650 – 3 February 699/700) was an Anglo-Saxon princess who became the patron saint of the city of Chester in Cheshire. Her feast day is 3 February. Life Werbur ...

. The book retells Christian stories of the animal encounters of various saints. Brown would write other collections retelling old tales for a contemporary child audience. Her ''In the Days of Giants'' (1902) featured stories from

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

and remained a standard text in libraries for several generations. ''Tales of the Red Children'' (1909), co-written with James MacIntosh Bell, featured Canadian Indian folklore. Abigail Farwell Brown in 1921

Original stories by Brown include ''The Lonesomest Doll'' (1901), ''The Flower Princess'' (1904), ''John of the Woods'' (1909), and ''The Lucky Stone'' (1914). She wrote several volumes of children's poetry, including ''A Pocketful of Posies'' (1901) and ''Fresh Posies'' (1908). Her books of adult poetry, including ''Heart of New England'' (1920) and ''The Silver Stair'' (1926), were less successful. Brown wrote song lyrics for the Progressive Music Series by Silver, Burdett and Co. She and composer

Mabel Wheeler Daniels Mabel Wheeler Daniels (November 27, 1878 in Swampscott, Massachusetts – March 10, 1971 in Boston) was an American composer, conductor, and teacher. She attended Radcliffe College and studied with George Whitefield Chadwick before travelin ...

wrote the song "On the Trail", which became the official song of the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

. Daniels set Brown's war poem "Peace with a Sword" to music and it was performed by the

Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...

in 1917. Brown's only juvenile biography was of a composer, ''The Boyhood of

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites ''Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

(1924). Brown was active in New England literary life. She edited the 20-volume Young Folks Library for the publisher Hall and Locke. She was a member of the Boston Authors' Club, the Boston Drama League, the

American Folklore Society The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote the responsible ...

, the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

, and was president of the New England Poetry Club. Brown died of cancer at the age of 55.

Works

* ''The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts'' (1900) * ''In the Days of Giants: A Book of Norse Tales'' (1902) * ''A Pocketful of Posies'' (1902) * ''The Curious Book of Birds'' (1903) * ''The Flower Princess'' (1904) * ''The Star Jewels, and Other Wonders'' (1905) * ''Brothers and Sisters'' (1906) * ''Friends and Cousins'' (1907) * ''John of the Woods'' (1909) * ''The Christmas Angel'' (1910) * ''Songs of Sixpence'' (1914) * ''Kisington Town'' (1915) * ''Surprise House'' (1917) * ''Heart of New England'' (1920) * ''Round Robin'' (1921) * ''The Lights of Beacon Hill: A Christmas Message'' (1922) * ''The Silver Stair: Poems'' (1926)

References

External links

Abbie Farwell Brown Papers

Schlesinger Library The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director, ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

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MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image repository)
illustrations from Abbie Farwell Brown’s works. Clicking on the thumbnail will give you the full image and information concerning it. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Abbie Farwell 1871 births 1927 deaths Radcliffe College alumni American women poets Writers from Boston Poets from Massachusetts American children's writers Children's poets People from Beacon Hill, Boston