Mary Clarissa "May" Byron (''née'' Gillington; 1861 – 5 November 1936) was a British writer and poet, best known for her abridgements of

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

books. She published under the names May Byron, M.C. Gillington and Maurice Clare. Byron specialised in writing biographies of great composers, poets and writers, before going on to rewrite some of J. M. Barrie's works for younger readers, to write poetry, and to write

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

History

She was born Mary Clarissa Gillington in 1861 at

Audlem Audlem ( ) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, North West England. In 2021, it had a population of 1,832. The largest village in southern Cheshire, Audlem is approximately south of Nantwich, just north of t ...

, Cheshire, the first of four children of John Maurice Gillington and Sarah Dumville Gillington. She was soon joined by a younger sister, Alice Elizabeth, and two younger brothers, George William and John Louis. Her Dublin-born father was an aspiring clergyman who worked as a clerk. Her mother was born in

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...

, Lancashire. The family moved to

Bisley, Surrey Bisley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. It is midway between Woking (to the east) and Camberley (to the west). The village had a population of 3,965 in ...

when her father found work as a chaplain at the

Brookwood Hospital Brookwood Hospital at Knaphill (near Woking) in Surrey, was established in 1867 by Surrey Quarter Sessions as the second County Asylum, the first being Springfield Asylum in Tooting (1840). A third asylum, Cane Hill Hospital at Coulsdon in the ea ...

, the local

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

. In 1892, Mary ("May") and her sister published a book of poems, dedicated to their parents. It included some poems that they had published previously in other books. On 27 August 1892, Gillington married George Frederick Byron, son of

Henry James Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincia ...

, and went on to have two children with him, James George Byron in 1894 and Charles Byron in 1897. She went on to write a series of biographies, describing the day-to-day lives of various writers, poets, composers and artists, and published by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

. Her series ''Days with the Great Composers'', ''Days with the Great Authors'' and ''Days with the Poets'' and single titles such as ''Days with Victorian Poets'' were published under a number of different pen names: her birth name, M. C. Gillington; her married name, May Byron; and her pseudonym, Maurice Clare. May Byron is best known for her authorised abridgements of the Peter Pan novels. Her original abridgement in 1915 was titled "Peter Pan and Wendy", the first to use that form. She also re-wrote the J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan novels "for little readers" or "for the nursery".

Reception

May Byron's biographies were generally well-received, though some critics could not tell if they were first-hand or fiction based on research. The books went on to inspire others, and her biography ''A Day with Shakespeare'' (written under the pseudonym "Maurice Clare") was particularly influential for

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

in writing ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

''. Byron's poetry was published in a number of newspapers, with one critic suggesting that her poetry has a "wonderful power". He goes on to say that her poem ''At Bay'' is "a cry not from the heart of a woman, but from the heart of Woman". ''The Ballad of London River For Massed School Singing'' was popular with schools in the London area and became the "official song" for a number of schools. She wrote several song lyrics for the composer

Amy Horrocks Amy Elise Horrocks (23 February 1867 – 4 December 1919), a life-long pacifist, was an England, English music educator, composer (particularly of songs) and pianist, born to English parents (Francis James Horrocks 8 July 1829 – 27 April 1913) a ...

. Her retellings of the Peter Pan books were targeted at parents who wished to read to their young children or allow their children their own copies of books. They were written in simple English, with large type and many colourful illustrations. In total, May Byron wrote over 100 books, in many different areas. She also had her poems published in newspapers.

Published books

Biographies

Days with the Great Composers

*A Day with John Sebastian Bach *A Day with

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

*A Day with

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

*A Day with

Charles François Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

*A day with

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

*A Day with

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

*A Day with

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

*A Day with

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

*A Day with

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

*A Day with

Tschaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

*Days with the Great Composers (1): Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert *Days with the Great Composers (2): Chopin, Gounod, Wagner

Days with the Great Writers

*A Day with Charlotte Bronte *A Day with

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

*A Day with

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

*A Day with

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

*A Day with

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

*A Day with

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

*A Day with

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

*A Day with

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

*A Day with

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

Days with the Poets

*A Day with

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work receiv ...

*A Day with

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

*A Day with

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

*A Day with

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

*A Day with

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

*A Day with

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

*A Day with

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

*A Day with

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

*A Day with

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

*A Day with

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

*A Day with

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

*A Day with

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

*A Day with

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

* A Day with

*A Day with

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

*A Day with

Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

*A Day with

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

*A Day with

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

*A Day with

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

*Days with the Victorian Poets :

Rossetti Rossetti may refer to: * Biagio Rossetti (c. 1447–1516), architect and urbanist from Ferrara, the first to use modern methods * Carlo Rossetti (1614–1681), Italian cardinal, nobleman * Cezaro Rossetti (1901–1950), Scottish Esperanto writer ...

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

, Mrs. Browning.

Golden Hours With the Saints

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...

* St. Francis of Assisi *

Brother Lawrence Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD (born Nicolas Herman; c. 1614 – 12 February 1691) was a French Catholic religious brother who served at a Discalced Carmelite monastery, what is now Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes in Paris. He is best reme ...

Saint Theresa of Avila In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

Thomas à Kempis Thomas à Kempis, CRV ( – 25 July 1471; ; ) was a German-Dutch Catholic canon regular of the Augustinians and the author of '' The Imitation of Christ'', one of the best known Christian devotional books. His name means "Thomas of Kempen", ...

Poetry

*The Garden of Love *The Golden Garden of the Poets *Poems (with A.E. Gillington) *The Wind on the Heath *Christmas Bells

Cook books

*May Byron's Pudding Book *May Byron's Rations Book *May Byron's Vegetable Book *May Byron's Jam Book *May Byron's Cake Book *May Byron's How-To-Save Cookery Book *Jams and Jellies *Pot-Luck *Simple Fare for Sick Folk *Puddings, Pastries, and Sweet Dishes

Children's books

*The Little Wee Bear and Goldenhair *The Little Brown Rooster *The Little Yellow Duckling *The Little Tan Terrier *The Little Small Red Hen *Cat's Cradle: A Picture-book for Little Folk; Cats by

Louis Wain Louis William Wain (5 August 1860 – 4 July 1939) was an English artist best known for his drawings of anthropomorphised cats and kittens. Wain was born in Clerkenwell, London. In 1881 he sold his first drawing and the following year gave up ...

; Rhymes by May Byron *Jack-a-Dandy *J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Wendy: Retold for Little People (authorised abridgement) *J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens: Retold for Little People (authorised abridgement)

References

External links

* * * * * *
Maurice Clare
at LC Authorities, with 4 records, an
at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, May 1861 births 1936 deaths English cookbook writers English women biographers English women children's writers English women food writers English women poets People from the Borough of Cheshire East People from Surrey Heath (district) Pseudonymous women writers Victorian poets Victorian women writers Writers from Cheshire Writers from Surrey 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers