Emily Underdown

Emily Underdown
Born(1863-07-28)28 July 1863
Broughton, Lancashire, England
Died5 September 1947(1947-09-05) (aged 84)
Hendon, Middlesex, England
OccupationWriter, novelist, and poet
EducationBachelor of Arts
Alma materUniversity of London

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.[1] 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."[2]

She is also remembered as a "war poet" of the First World War for her work "The Gifts of War".[3]

  1. ^ Adrian Room, Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins. McFarland & Co Inc; 5th revised edition, 2010.
  2. ^ Richmond, Velma (2004). Chaucer as Children's Literature: Retellings from the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. United States: McFarland and Company. pp. 127–134. ISBN 978-0786417407.
  3. ^ Khan, Nosheen (1988). Women's Poetry of the First World War. ISBN 0813116775.