Nationality British Role Writer | Name Emily Underdown Alma mater University of London | |
Occupation Writer, Novelist and Poet Died September 5, 1947, Hendon, London, United Kingdom | ||
Emily Underdown (1863–1947) was an English writer, novelist and poet. She is best known for popularising Dante (1265–1321) and for her children’s books. Many of her works are written under the pseudonym Norley Chester, which name appears to have been taken from the village of Norley, Cheshire, near the town of Chester. The use of pseudonyms was common with female writers of the time. She also illustrated the book The Pageant of The Year: A Garden Record In Verse.
According to Chaucer as Children's Literature: Retellings from the Victorian and Edwardian Eras, Underdown's The Gateway to Chaucer "...is probably the most thoughtful presentation to children..." of the complicated work, and "...one of the most thoughtful collections with great philosophical and historical interest."
She is also remembered as a "war poet" of the First World War for her work "The Gifts of War".
Biography
Emily Underdown was born on 28 July 1863 at Higher Broughton, Lancashire, England. Her parents were Lieutenant-Colonel Robert George Underdown and Lydia Underdown (née Dacombe). She was the second of four children. Not much is known about her early life other than her graduation from University College London in 1898 (UCL Record Office). She lived in Lancashire and Yorkshire during her early life, moving to London at some point after 1901. She did not marry.
She died in London on 5 September 1947. Her brother, Herbert William Underdown (born 8 July 1864; Charterhouse; Cambridge (Pemberton) B.A. L.L.M), was a solicitor (Birkbeck Bank Chambers) and a well-known art collector and antiquarian scholar.