Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime

Biography

Childhood

Ruth Vernon Manning was the youngest of three daughters of John Manning, an English Unitarian minister. She was born in Swansea,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, but the family moved to Cheshire when she was three. As a child, she read books and wrote and acted plays with her two sisters. According to a story she tells in the foreword to ''Scottish Folk Tales'', she spent her summers in a farmhouse in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

named "Shian", which she says means the place where fairies live.

Education

Manning studied English literature and Shakespearean studies at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Marriage

After returning from a trip to Italy to recover from an illness that forced her to leave university, she went to Devon where she met English artist George Sanders. They married in 1911, and both changed their names to Manning-Sanders. She spent much of her early married life touring Britain in a horse-drawn caravan and working in a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

, a topic she wrote about extensively. The family eventually moved into a cottage in the fishing

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

, Cornwall. One of their two children,

Joan Manning-Sanders Joan Manning-Sanders (17 May 1913 – 2002) was a British artist regarded as a child prodigy. Biography Early life Manning-Sanders was born in Torcross, Devon on 17 May 1913. Her mother was poet and author Ruth Manning-Sanders. Her father ...

(1913–2002), found fame as a teenage artist in the 1920s. Her husband died in an accident in 1953.

Literary career

Manning-Sanders took to publishing dozens of fairy-tale anthologies, mostly during the 1960s and 1970s. She writes in the foreword to a 1971 anthology, ''A Choice of Magic'', that there can't be new fairy tales because they are "records of the time when the world was very young." She rather says that once upon a time is a door through which readers can enter the fairy world and enjoy its magic. Some of Manning-Saunders's fairy-tale compilations include a discursive foreword on the origins of the tales retold. The stories in ''A Book of Dragons'' hail from Greece, China, Japan,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

, Ireland, Romania, Germany and elsewhere. She goes out of her way to say "not all

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

want to gobble up princesses." The book includes tales of kind and proud dragons, along with savage ones. In her foreword to ''A Book of Witches,'' she offers insight into how she believed fairy tales should usually end, saying: She also notes in the foreword to ''A Book of Princes and Princesses'' that all fairy tales have one thing in common: a happy ending. While many of Manning-Sanders's tales are not commonly known, she includes stories about more famous figures such as

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

Jack the Giant-Killer "Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklor ...

Anansi Anansi ( ; literally translates to ''spider'') is an Akan folktale character and the Akan God of Stories, Wisdom, Knowledge, and possibly creation. The form of a spider is the most common depiction of Anansi. He is also, sometimes considered t ...

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

and Aladdin. The dust jacket for ''A Book of Giants'' notes "her wit and good humour. There is not a word wasted."

Death

Manning-Sanders died in 1988 in Penzance, England.

Marcus Crouch Marcus Crouch (12 February 1913 – 24 April 1996) was an English librarian, and an influential commentator on and reviewer of children's books.Sheila Ray. "Obituary: Marcus Crouch", ''Children's Literature Abstracts'', Issues 92-95, Internation ...

wrote in the February 1989 issue of ''The Junior Bookshelf'', "For many long-lived writers, death is followed by eclipse. I hope that publishers will continue to re-release Manning-Sanders's priceless treasury of folk-tales. We would all be the poorer for their loss."

Books

She worked for two years with Rosaire's Circus in England. Her novel ''The Golden Ball. A Novel of the Circus'' (1954) is said to include parallels with the life of Leon LaRoche, a famed circus performer with

Barnum & Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

from 1895 through 1902. Manning-Sanders was noted as a poet and novelist in the years up to World War II. At least two of her early poetry collections – ''Karn'' and ''Martha Wish-You-Ill'' – were published by the

Hogarth Press The Hogarth Press is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that was founded as an independent company in 1917 by British authors Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond (then in Surrey and n ...

, run by

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

. Three of her poems appeared in the 1918 volume "Twelve Poets, a Miscellany of New Verse", which also includes ten poems by Edward Thomas. She won the Blindman International Poetry Prize in 1926 for ''The City'', and was for a time a protégée of the English author

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

, who spent at least one holiday with the Manning-Sanders family in Cornwall. While living in

Sennen Sennen (''Cornish: Sen Senan'' or ''Sen Senana'') is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately eight miles (13 km) west-southwest of Penzance.Ordnance Survey: Landra ...

, Cornwall, Manning-Sanders was for a time a neighbour of the British writer

Mary Butts Mary Francis Butts, (13 December 1890 – 5 March 1937) also Mary Rodker by marriage, was an English modernist writer. Her work found recognition in literary magazines such as '' The Bookman'' and ''The Little Review'', as well as from fellow mo ...

. The short story "John Pettigrew's Mirror" appeared in the 1951 anthology "One and All – A Selection of Stories from Cornwall," edited by

Denys Val Baker Denys Val Baker (24 October 1917 – 6 July 1984) was a Welsh writer, specialising in short stories, novels, and autobiography. He was also known for his activities as an editor, and promotion of the arts in Cornwall. Early years Born Denys Ba ...

. It was republished at least once, in the 1988 anthology "Ghost Stories" edited by

Robert Westall Robert Atkinson Westall (7 October 1929 – 15 April 1993) was an English author and teacher known for fiction aimed at children and young people. Some of the latter cover complex, dark, and adult themes. He has been called "the dean of Brit ...

. Her story, "The Goblins at the Bath House" from ''A Book of Ghosts and Goblins'' was read by

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

on an LP entitled "The Goblins at the Bath House & The Calamander Chest," published by Caedmon in 1978 (TC 1574). She began collecting fairy tales into collections in 1966 with the publication of ''A Book of Dragons''. She wrote seven more fairytale collections titled ''Giants Dwarfs, Witches, Wizards, Mermaids, Ghosts and Goblins'' and ''Princes and Princesses.'' These collections were illustrated by

Robin Jacques Robin Jacques (27 March 1920 – 18 March 1995) was a British illustrator whose work was published in more than 100 novels and children's books. He is notable for his long collaboration with Ruth Manning-Sanders, illustrating many of her coll ...

. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, she published two collections titled ''A Book of Devils and Demons'' and ''Gianni and The Ogre''. Robin Jacques also illustrated ''A Book of Devils and Demons.''

Selected volumes

"A Book of ..." series

These 22 anthologies or collections were published by Methuen (Dutton in the US) and illustrated by

. *'' A Book of Giants'', 1962 *''A Book of Dwarfs'', 1963 *''A Book of Dragons'', 1964 *''A Book of Witches'', 1965 *''A Book of Wizards'', 1966 *''A Book of Mermaids'', 1967 *''A Book of Ghosts and Goblins'', 1968 *''A Book of Princes and Princesses'', 1969 *''A Book of Devils and Demons'', 1970 *''A Book of Charms and Changelings'', 1971 *''A Book of Ogres and Trolls'', 1972 *''A Book of Sorcerers and Spells'', 1973 *''A Book of Magic Animals'', 1974 *''A Book of Monsters'', 1975 *''A Book of Enchantments and Curses'', 1976 *''A Book of Kings and Queens'', 1977 *''A Book of Marvels and Magic'', 1978 *''A Book of Spooks and Spectres'', 1979 *''A Book of Cats and Creatures'', 1981 *''A Book of Heroes and Heroines'', 1982 *''A Book of Magic Adventures'', 1983 *''A Book of Magic Horses'', 1984 The Library of Congress reports also a 1970 anthology compiled by Manning-Sanders, ''The Book of Magical Beasts'', published by T. Nelson and illustrated by

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

"Modern and ancient poems and short stories from around the world about make-believe beasts.".

Other volumes

*''The Pedlar'', 1919 (verse) *''Karn'', 1922 (verse) *''Pages from the History of Zachy Trenoy Sometime Labourer in the Hundred of Penwith'', 1922 (verse) *''The Twelve Saints'', 1926 *''Martha Wish-You-Ill'', 1922 (verse) *''The City'', 1927 (verse) *''Waste Corner'', 1927 *''Selina Pennaluna'', 1927 *''Hucca's Moor'', 1929 *''The Crochet Woman'', 1930 *''The Growing Trees'', 1931 *''She Was Sophia'', 1932 *''Run Away'', 1934 *''Mermaid's Mirror'', 1935 *''The Girl Who Made an Angel'', 1936 *''Children by the Sea'', 1938 (published in United States as ''Adventure May Be Anywhere'') *''Elephant The Romance of Laura'', 1938 *''Luke's Circus'', 1939 *''Mystery at Penmarth'', 1941 *''The West of England'', 1949 (non-fiction) *''Swan of Denmark: The Story of Hans Christian Andersen'', 1949 (non-fiction) *''Seaside England'', 1951 (non-fiction) *''The River Dart'', 1951 (non-fiction) *''The English Circus'', 1952 (non-fiction) *''Mr. Portal's Little Lions'', 1952 *''The Golden Ball: A Novel of the Circus'', 1954 *''Melissa'', 1957 *'' Peter and the Piskies: Cornish Folk and Fairy Tales'', 1958 *''A Bundle of Ballads'', 1959 *''Circus Boy'', 1960 *'' Red Indian Folk and Fairy Tales'', 1960 *''Animal Stories'', 1961 (non-fiction) *'' Birds, Beasts, and Fishes'', 1962 (editor, an anthology of natural history poetry) *''The Smugglers'', 1962 *'' The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales'', 1964 *'' Damian and the Dragon: Modern Greek Folk-Tales'', 1965 *''The Crow's Nest'', 1965 *''Slippery Shiney'', 1965 *''The Extraordinary Margaret Catchpole'', 1966 (fictionalised biography) *''The Magic Squid'', 1968 *''Stories from the English and Scottish Ballads'', 1968 *'' The Glass Man and the Golden Bird'', 1968 (Hungarian Folk and Fairy Tales) *'' Jonnikin and the Flying Basket: French Folk and Fairy Tales'', 1969 *''The Spaniards Are Coming!'', 1969 *'' Gianni and the Ogre'', 1970 *''A Book of Magical Beasts'', 1970 (editor) *''

A Choice of Magic ''A Choice of Magic'' is a 1971 anthology of 32 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. In fact, the book is mostly a collection of tales published in previous Manning-Sanders anthologies. ...

'', 1971 *''

The Three Witch Maidens ''The Three Witch Maidens'' was originally published in the United Kingdom in 1972, by Methuen & Co. Ltd. The 1977 paperback version was published by The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. under its Beaver Books imprint. The book is an anthology of ...

'', 1972 *''Festivals'', 1973 *''Stumpy A Russian Tale'', 1974 *''Grandad and the Magic Barrel'', 1974 *''Old Dog Sirko: A Ukrainian Tale'', 1974 *''

Sir Green Hat and the Wizard ''Sir Green Hat and the Wizard'' is a 1974 anthology of 14 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders. Table of contents *1. ...

'', 1974 *'' Tortoise Tales'', 1974 *''Ram and Goat'', 1974 *'' Young Gabby Goose'', 1975 *'' Scottish Folk Tales'', 1976 *'' Fox Tales'', 1976 *''The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Aesop's Fable Retold, 1977 *''Robin Hood and Little John'', 1977 *''

Old Witch Boneyleg ''Old Witch Boneyleg'' is a 1978 anthology of 13 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is part of a long series of fairy tale anthologies by Manning-Sanders. This is a companion volume ...

'', 1978 *''The Cock and the Fox '', 1978 *''Boastful Rabbit'', 1978 *'' Folk and Fairy Tales'', 1978 *'' The Haunted Castle'', 1979 *''Robin Hood and the Gold Arrow'', 1979 *''Oh Really, Rabbit!'', 1980 *''Hedgehog and Puppy Dog'', 1982 *'' Tales of Magic and Mystery'', 1985 *'' A Cauldron of Witches'', 1988

References

Sources and further reading

Thomson Gale Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale G ...

, ''Contemporary Authors'' (2004) *M. S. Crouch, ''The Junior Bookshelf'', February 1989 *Biographic material culled from introductions and dust jackets of several of Manning-Sanders' books * John Clute and John Grant, ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work concerning fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall, Michael S ...

'' (1999 updated paperback edition) *Theresa Whistler, ''The Life of Walter de la Mare'' (2004) *Nathalie Blondel (Editor), ''The Journals of Mary Butts'' (2002) *Donna Elizabeth Rhein, ''The handprinted books of Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, 1917–1932'' (master's thesis)
Lawrence Finn's page about Joan Manning-Sanders

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning-Sanders, Ruth 1886 births 1988 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century English women 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets 20th-century English women writers Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Anglo-Welsh women poets British centenarians British women children's writers Collectors of fairy tales English children's writers English folklorists English women non-fiction writers English women novelists English women poets People from Swansea Women centenarians Women folklorists Women science fiction and fantasy writers