Farjeon, Eleanor

(1881-1965)

   She was born in Hampstead, London, the daughter of the novelist Benjamin Leopold Farjeon, and granddaughter of the American actor Joseph Jefferson. Although lacking in formal education, she absorbed literature like a sponge from her father's vast library. When her father died leaving no money, Eleanor turned to writing. She and Philip Edward Thomas (see entry) became friends and how they helped each other to develop as poets is described in his The Last Four Years (1958). Following the death of Thomas she spent four formative years, 1917 to 1921, near Amberley, Sussex, out of which was born the romantic fantasy Martin Pippin in the Apple-Orchard (1921). Although not written for children, it rapidly became popular with young people. Throughout the twenties she regularly wrote poems and verses for the Daily Herald and for Time and Tide: Pan Worship, 1908. Other major publications: Nursery Rhymes of London Town, 1916. The Children's Bells, 1957. Silver-Sand and Snow, 1951. Some of her poems: "Light the Lamps Up, Lamplighter!" "Morning Has Broken" (set to an old Gaelic tune, it has become a popular hymn), "Ode to a Fat Cat," "The Flower-Seller," "Window Boxes."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Earth Prayers from Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth. Elizabeth Roberts and Elais Amidon, eds. Harper Collins, 1991. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. Piping Down the Valley Wild: Poetry for the Young of All Ages, Nancy Larrick, ed. Delacorte Press, 1968. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Cyber Hymnal (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/index.htm). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.