Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson (1863 – November 4, 1942) was an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Early years

She was born Eleanor Stackhouse in

Rensselaer, Indiana Rensselaer is a city located along the Iroquois River (Indiana-Illinois), Iroquois River in Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Jasper County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,859 at the 201 ...

, and later married

Francis Blake Atkinson Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

, himself also an author—the couple had children Dorothy Blake (b. 1892) and Frances Eleanor (b. 1899).

Career

She taught in schools in both Indianapolis and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. She wrote for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' as a stunt girl reporter under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Nora Marks" from 1888 to 1890, and later became publisher of the

Little Chronicle Publishing Company Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, Chicago; this published several of her own works, along with other educational books and the ''Little Chronicle'', an illustrated newspaper intended for young children. While she wrote both fiction and non-fiction, the former mostly romances and the latter mostly educational books, she is best known for her 1912 novel ''

Greyfriars Bobby Greyfriars Bobby (4 May 1855 – 14 January 1872) was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story conti ...

''. This popular work recounted the famous story of the eponymous dog; most of the modern versions of the story seem to stem from her form of the tale. Many details of the book, especially those regarding the dog's master are inaccurate; until recently it was assumed that she had no opportunity for original research of her setting. It seems likely that she worked from the basic story and embellished it from her own imagination. The story, however, ''is'' lovingly detailed; the descriptions of the geography may be somewhat confused, but effort was clearly made to get names correct, and to get across the atmosphere of the city. Unusually for someone with no connection to the country, her portrayal of the local accent was convincing and strongly phrased; this suggests it is possible she picked up the story directly from Scottish immigrants to the Midwest. : ''"I wullna gang to the infairmary. It's juist for puir toon bodies that are aye ailin' an' deein'." Fright and resentment lent the silent old man an astonishing eloquence for the moment. "Ye wadna gang to the infairmary yer ainsel', an' tak' charity."'' The book is often considered a classic, especially for children, and has been reprinted several times; it was the basis for the films '' Challenge to Lassie'' (

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

, 1949) and ''

'' (

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, 1961),''Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961)''
IMDB.com website. Retrieved on January 23, 2008. although both of these postdated her death. Both films starred

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

Personal life

Blake's daughter,

Eleanor Blake Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was intro ...

, wrote a detective novel, ''

Death Down East Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

'' (1942). Her son, Atkinson's grandson, was the movie and television actor

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series '' Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 1 ...

. Her husband Francis Atkinson was a fellow newspaperman and opened The Little Chronicle along with her.

Selected works

*''Mamzelle Fifine : A Romance of the Girlhood of the Empress Josephine on the Island of Martinique'' (1903) *''Boyhood of Lincoln'' (1908) (also published as ''Lincoln's Love Story'') *''Story of Chicago and National Development, 1534-1910.'' (1910) *'' New Student's Reference Work for Teachers, Students and Families'' (1911) *''

Greyfriar's Bobby Greyfriars Bobby (4 May 1855 – 14 January 1872) was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story cont ...

'' (1912) *''Loyal Love'' (1912) *''Johnny Appleseed: The Romance of the Sower'' (1915) *''Pictured Knowledge; Visual Instruction Practically Applied for the Home and School'' (1916) *''Hearts Undaunted : A Romance of Four Frontiers'' (1917) *''"Poilu," a Dog of Roubaix.'' (1918)

References

External links

* *
Eleanor Atkinson
a tribute site by Inez Visser {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Eleanor Stackhouse 1863 births 1942 deaths 19th-century American writers 20th-century American novelists American women novelists American women journalists 20th-century American women writers 19th-century American women writers People from Rensselaer, Indiana 20th-century American non-fiction writers Schoolteachers from Indiana American women educators