Margaret Fairless Barber (

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, Michael Fairless; 7 May 1869 – 24 August 1901), was an English Christian writer. Her book of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

s, ''The Roadmender'' (1902), became a popular classic.

Life

Barber was born in

Rastrick Rastrick is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, between Halifax, 5 miles (8 km) north-east and Huddersfield, 4 miles (7 km) south. The population of the Calderdale Civil Ward at the 2011 census was 11,351. It is perhaps best ...

, Brighouse,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, the youngest of three daughters. She was initially tutored at home by her mother, Maria Louisa, ''née'' Musgrave (1831–1890) and elder sisters. Barber was an eager reader but when her father, solicitor and amateur archaeologist Fairless Barber, died in 1881, her mother, unable to cope, sent her to relatives in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

where she attended a local school. It was here that she became aware of a spinal condition that would affect the rest of her life. She settled with her mother in

Bungay, Suffolk Bungay () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . It lies in the Waveney Valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a ...

.Room (2004) In 1884, Barber went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to train as a nurse at a

children's hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...

. She also travelled to Torquay to care for a relative and did charitable work in the East End of London. However, her health continued to deteriorate, including her

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and she was in continual need of care herself. To the dismay of her relatives, she was effectively "adopted" by the cultured Dowson family who took care of her in their family home. Margaret Barber grave Ashurst 2014

Unable to continue her charitable work, Barber took up writing under the pseudonym "Michael Fairless", the "Michael" inspired by her childhood friend

Michael McDonnell Sir Michael Francis Joseph McDonnell (1882–1956) was Chief Justice of Palestine between 1927 and 1936. He had previously been a colonial civil servant and Acting Chief Justice of Sierra Leone. Education and career Born in London to an ...

(1882–1956), subsequently chief justice of the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

. Her first book was the religious romance ''The Gathering of Brother Hilarius'' (1901) but it was ''The Roadmender'' (1902) that achieved a wild success, being reprinted 31 times in 10 years. A posthumous work, ''The Grey Brethren'', was issued in 1905. It consisted of a number of fragments and short fairy tales, intended for juvenile readers; included among them were, ''A German Christmas Eve'', ''The Manifestation'', ''The Dreadful Griffin'', ''The Discontented Daffodils'', and ''The Fairy Fluffikins''. Barber died in

Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. Th ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

while on vacation with the Dowsons. She is buried in nearby Ashurst. Her epitaph reads "Lo how I loved Thee".

References

Bibliography

*A. Room (2004),
Barber, Margaret Fairless (1869–1901)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 2 July 2007 *W. S. Palmer, . E. Dowson& A. M. Haggard, A. M.(1913) ''Michael Fairless: Her Life and Writings'' *M. E. Dowson (1931) "A biographical note" in ''The complete works of Michael Fairless'' *"The Tramp" . H. Anderson(1924), ''The Roadmender's Country'' *A. Wilde (1938), "A Pilgrimage to the Roadmender Country: Memories of Michael Fairless", ''Sussex Daily News'', 25 February 1938

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Margaret 1869 births 1901 deaths British religious writers British spiritual writers Pseudonymous women writers People from Brighouse People from Bungay Women religious writers 20th-century British women writers 20th-century English writers 19th-century women writers People from Rastrick 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers