Averil Constance Demuth (1906–2000) was an English writer of children's stories, several of which have a fantasy element.

Life

Averil Constance Demuth was born on 5 January 1906 in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. In the 1920s Demuth wrote words for music composed by

Norman Demuth Norman Demuth (15 July 1898 – 21 April 1968) was an English composer and musicologist, remembered largely for his biographies of French composers. Biography Early life Demuth was born in Croydon, Surrey, at 91 St James' Road. On leaving Repto ...

. However, her first story was ''Trudi and Hansel'' (1938), set in the

Austrian Tyrol Tyrol ( ; ; ) is an Austrian federal state. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (together with South Tyrol and Tren ...

. The girl Trudi, the boy Hansel, the cow Lotti, the dog Berni, the hen Griselda and the raven Kraak all go up the mountain to see Riese the giant, and then all come down again.

Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's literature, children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her cor ...

gave the book a positive review: " Nora Lavrin's delicious crayon illustrations are the gay and unsophisticated complement to Averil Demuth's Tyrolean tale ... I like this book very much". A biographical sketch of Demuth appeared in the children's book club magazine ''Young Wings''. ''The House in the Mountains'' (1940), illustrated by Grace Huxtable, was set in Kandergurgl, a little Swiss village. Max, Lisel and the other children encounter a witch, a wicked baron, Ruffin the dog, Mr Fooks the fox and Mr Trog the bear in a story with kidnappings, magic, secret passages and a ransom. In 1941 she was living in

Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing C ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. She married Anthony Cockbain in

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

in 1941, though he died in November 1942, after only one year of marriage. ''The Enchanted Islands'' (1941) was followed by ''Sea Gypsies'' (1942), a holiday story of Peter and Petronel on an "enchanted island", where the "little people" were as real as humans. The ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reviewer welcomed the book: "This story is very well done".''The House of the Wind''(1953) was an adventure story set in

. One reviewer remarked that the story "spurns the hygenic world of normal holidays and enters into Lyonese and ancient magic without being objectionably fey". In 1968 Demuth edited a book about the

Minack Theatre The Minack Theatre () is an open-air theatre, constructed above a gully with a rocky granite outcrop jutting into the sea. The theatre is at Porthcurno, from Land's End in Cornwall, England.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's En ...

: six people connected to the theatre described their activities, and Demuth herself gave a historical account of the theatre.''The Times'', 26 August 1968, p. 9. She died on 16 May 2000 in Penzance.

Works

* (with Norman Demuth) ''Two ships: unison song''. London: Oxford University Press, 1926. The English choral songs, no. 57. Music by Norman Demuth, words by Averil Demuth. * (with Norman Demuth) ''Spindrift: unison song''. London : Edward Arnold & Co., 1930. Singing class music, No. 370. Music by Norman Demuth, words by Averil Demuth. * ''Trudi and Hansel: a story of the Austrian Tyrol''. London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1938. Illustrated by Nora Lavrin. * ''The house in the mountains: a Swiss story''. London. Illustrated by Grace Huxtable. (American edition illustrated by Ninon MacKnight.) * ''The enchanted islands: a modern fairy tale''. London: H. Hamilton, 1941. Illustrated by Grace Huxtable. * ''The sea gypsies''. London: H. Hamilton, 1942. Illustrated by Grace Huxtable. * ''The house of the wind''. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1953. Illustrated by

Fritz Wegner Fritz Wegner (15 September 1924 – 15 March 2015) was an Austrian-born illustrator, resident in the United Kingdom from 1938. Early life and exile Fritz Wegner was born in Vienna on 15 September 1924 into a family of assimilated Jews. Following ...

. * (ed.) ''The Minack open-air theatre: a symposium ''. Newton Abbott: David Charles Ltd., 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demuth, Averil 1906 births 2000 deaths English children's writers