Elfrida Vipont Brown (3 July 1902 – 14 March 1992) was an English writer of children's literature. She was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

into a family of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

. As a children's writer, she initially published under a man's name, Charles Vipont, which was a common marketing device by publishers at the time. She later wrote as Elfrida Vipont, and after her marriage sometimes as E. V. Foulds. She was also a schoolteacher and a prominent Quaker.

Early life

Born in

on 3 July 1902, Elfrida Brown was the youngest of the three children of Edward Vipont Brown (1863–1955), a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

and Dorothy Brown (née Crowley) (1874–1968). She was educated at

Manchester High School for Girls Manchester High School for Girls is an English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in Fallowfield, Manchester. The head mistress is Helen Jeys who took ...

and

The Mount School, York The Mount School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom , private Quaker day and boarding school for girls ages 3–18, and a co-ed Junior School, located in York, York, England. The school was founded in 1785, and the current Head is Anna W ...

, which were not unlike the "Chesterham High School" and "Heryot School" she portrayed in ''The Lark in the Morn''. After a time of reading history at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, she realized that what she really wanted to sing, and went on to study it with teachers in London, Paris and Leipzig and to work as a freelance writer and lecturer. In 1926, Vipont married R. Percy Foulds, a research technologist. They had four daughters. She started her writing career during their early years. During World War II she was headmistress of an Evacuation School set up by Quakers in Manchester at Liverpool and Yealand Conyers, a small village in Lancashire, where children from those cities and from further afield were sent for safety, away from the wartime bombing. Three of her own daughters were pupils at the school. Elfrida Foulds had already published three books for children before the war. After it was over she became a writer in many fields, with interests in history, Quakerism and music. She wrote nearly two dozen novels, stories and anthologies for children and young adults, including '' The Lark on the Wing'', which won the Carnegie Medal in 1951.

Service to Quakers

Elfrida Fouldes was a lifelong member of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

(Quakers). She served on the

Meeting for Sufferings Meeting for Sufferings is an executive committee of Britain Yearly Meeting, the body which acts on behalf of members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Great Britain and the Crown Dependencies. It has about 200 members who meet five ...

of London Yearly Meeting (an executive committee) from 1939 to 1985; from 1969 to 1974 she was its

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

. She also served on the Friends Service Council, the Friends Education Council, the Library Committee and the Friends Historical Society Executive Committee. She was also a long-serving member of the

Ackworth School Ackworth School is a private day and boarding school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of t ...

Committee. She also served on the committee that arranged for British Quakers' Yearly Meeting, and participated in the revision of the Quaker

Book of Discipline A Book of Discipline (or in its shortened form Discipline) is a book detailing the beliefs, standards, doctrines, canon law, and polity of a particular Christian denomination. They are often re-written by the governing body of the church concern ...

. Elfrida Foulds lived for many years at Yealand Conyers, while travelling worldwide for Quaker committees and lecturing in schools and libraries.

Writing career

Elfrida Fouldes wrote "serious books" about Quakerism,"Recent Scholarship in Quaker History", ''Friends Historical Association'', 2010
. See the entry for Hartshorne, Susan Vipont (biography of Elfrida Vipont), page 14. some under her married name E. V. Foulds. One was her first published book, ''Quakerism: An International Way of Life'' (1930). She used a man's pen name, Charles Vipont, to write adventure stories for boys (first in 1939); that was a common marketing device by Oxford University Press and other publishers of female authors. ''The Heir of Craigs'' (Oxford, 1955) is a historical novel set in Britain and North America late in the 17th century. Nigel Craig, the son of an aristocratic family, "escapes" on adventure with a cousin. Along with "a band of steadfast and resourceful Quakers", they are shipwrecked in the New World and they meet hostile natives. As "Elfrida Vipont", she wrote about two dozen books for children (and other works), including short biographies of the authors

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

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 ...

, and

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

, published by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

between 1965 and 1977. A number of her books were published by Gazelle Books and Reindeer Books,

's imprints for younger children. Her best-known books are ''The Lark in the Morn'' (1948) and ''The Lark on the Wing'' (1950), published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. For the latter she won the annual Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. The Lark books were five family stories following the musical career of Kit Haverard. The three other novels continuing this Lark /Haverard series are ''The Spring of the Year'' (1957), ''Flowering Spring'' (1960), and ''The Pavilion'' (1969). Fouldes and the illustrator

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 ...

collaborated on a picture book for young children, ''The Elephant and the Bad Baby'', published by Hamish Hamilton in 1969. Probably it is her most famous work; by a wide margin, as it is the one most widely held in

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

participating libraries. It features a baby who refuses to say please and goes romping through town on the back of an elephant while being chased by various townspeople. ''The Elephant and the Bad Baby'' is a "cumulative story" with a "poetic feel", a common effect drawn from the picture-book format of the text.

Later life

Elfrida Foulds lived for many years at Yealand Conyers, Lancashire, where she was an active participant in community affairs, while travelling worldwide for Quaker committees and lecturing in schools and libraries. She died in 1992.

Legacy

Elfrida Foulds' personal papers are at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester.

Publications

*''Quakerism: An International Way of Life'' (1930), as E. V. Foulds *''Good Adventure: The Quest for Music in Britain'' (Manchester: J. Heywood, 1931), illustrated by Estella Canziani *''Colin Writes to Friends House'' (Friends’ Book Centre, 1934; 2nd ed. revised, 1946) *''Blow the Man Down ...'' (1939), as Charles Vipont, illus. Norman Hepple — published with "The fighting sailor turn'd peaceable Christian", the narrative of Thomas Lurting's conversion to Quaker Christianity, first printed in 1710 *''The Lark in the Morn'' (Oxford, 1948), illus. T. R. Freeman ‡ *''The Lark on the Wing'' (Oxford, 1950), illus. T. R. Freeman ‡ *''A Lily among Thorns: some passages in the life of

Margaret Fell Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox ( Askew, formerly Fell; 1614 – 23 April 1702) was a founder and leading member of the Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Prot ...

of Swarthmoor Hall'' ( Friends Home Service Committee, 1950) *''Sparks among the Stubble'' (Oxford, 1950; FHSC, 1971, illus. Patricia M. Lambe —short stories *''The Birthplace of Quakerism: a handbook for the 1652 country'' (1952), as E. V. Foulds; 5th revised ed., Quaker Home Service, 1997) *''Let Your Lives Speak: a key to Quaker experience'' (Wallingford, Pennsylvania: Pendle Hill, 1953; Pendle Hill pamphlets #71) *''The Story of Quakerism: through three centuries'' (1954; 2nd ed., London: Bannisdale Press, 1960; 3rd, 1977) *''Arnold Rowntree: a life'' (Bannisdale Press, 1955) — about

Arnold Stephenson Rowntree Arnold Stephenson Rowntree (28 November 1872 – 21 May 1951) was a Quaker and Liberal MP for York, England. Background He was the son of John Stephenson Rowntree and Elizabeth Hotham of York. He was the nephew of Joseph Rowntree (1836–19 ...

*''The Family at Dowbiggins'' (Lutterworth Press, 1955), illus. T. R. Freeman • *''The Heir of Craigs'' (Oxford, 1955), as Charles Vipont, illus. Tessa Theobold *''Living in the Kingdom'' (1955) *''The High Way: an anthology'' (1957), as E. Vipont, compiler *''The Secret of Orra'' (Basil Blackwell, 1957), with illustrations *''The Spring of the Year'' (Oxford, 1957), illus. T. R. Freeman ‡ *''Bless This Day: a book of prayer for children'' (Harcourt, 1958), as E. Vipont, compiler; illus. Harold Jones *''More about Dowbiggins'' (1958); later ''A Win for Henry Conyers'' (Hamilton, 1968), illus. T.R. Freeman • *''

, from its foundation in 1779 to the introduction of co-education in 1946'' (Lutterworth Press, 1959) *''Henry Purcell and His Times'' (1959) – about

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

*''Changes at Dowbiggins'' (1960); later, ''Boggarts and Dreams'' (1969) *''Flowering Spring'' (1960) ‡ *''The Story of Christianity in Britain'' (Michael Joseph, 1960), illus. Gaynor Chapman *''What about Religion?'' (Museum Press, 1961), illus. Peter Roberson *''The Bridge: an anthology'' (1962), as E. Vipont, compiler, illustrated with 10 wood block engravings by Trevor Brierley Lofthouse *''A Faith to Live By'' (1962) *''Search for a Song'' (Oxford, 1962), illus. Peter Edwards *''Some Christian Festivals: to which is appended a brief glossary of Christian terminology'' (London: Michael Joseph, 1963) *''Larry Lopkins'' (Hamilton, 1965), illus. Pat Marriott *''The Offcomers'' (1965), illus. Janet Duchesne *''Rescue for Mittens'' (Hamilton, 1965), illus. Jane Paton *''Stevie'' (Hamilton, 1965), illus.

*''Quakerism: a Faith to Live By'' (Bannisdale Press, 1966) *''Terror by Night: a book of strange stories'' (1966) *''Weaver of Dreams: the girlhood of

'' (Hamilton, 1966) *''A Child of the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

'' (University Press, 1967), illus. John Lawrence *''The China Dog'' (Hamilton, 1967), illus. Constance Marshall *''The Secret Passage'' (Hamilton, 1967), illus. Ian Ribbons *''The Elephant and the Bad Baby'' (Hamilton, 1969), illus. Raymond Briggs *''Michael and the Dogs'' (1969) *''The Pavilion'' (Oxford, 1969), illus. Prudence Seward ‡ *''Children of the Mayflower'' (New York: Franklin Watts, 1970), illus. Evadne Rowan *''Towards a High Attic: the early life of

'' (Hamilton, 1970) *''Bed in Hell'' (Hamilton, 1974) *''George Fox and the

Valiant Sixty The Valiant Sixty were a group of early activists and itinerant preachers in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Mainly from northern England, they spread the ideas of the Friends in the second half of the 17th century. They were also call ...

'' (Hamilton, 1975) – about the Quaker founder

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 13 January 1691 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Dissenters, English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as t ...

*''A Little Bit of Ivory: a life of

'' (Hamilton, 1977) *''So Numerous a Family: 200 years of Quaker education at Ackworth, 1779–1979'' (1979), by Vipont and Edward H. Milligan *''The Candle of the Lord'' (1983) *''Why Young Friends?'' (1987) : ‡ ''The Lark in the Morn'' (1948) inaugurated a series of five books (1948–1969), according to ''Collecting Books and Magazines''. Its first sequel, ''The Lark on the Wing'' (1950), was called "second of three" in a 1970 review by Kirkus. : • ''The Family at Dowbiggins'' (1955) inaugurated a series of three books (1955–1960), according to ''Collecting Books and Magazines''.

References

External links

Elfrida Vipont at Fantastic Fiction
—books listed by category (accessed 7 December 2007)
Elfrida Vipont
at ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' * (previous page of browse report, under 'Vipont, Elfrida, 1902–' without '1992')
Elfrida Vipont Foulds
at LC Authorities, with 8 records, an
at WorldCatCharles Vipont
at LC Authorities an
at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vipont, Elfrida English children's writers English historical novelists Carnegie Medal in Literature winners English Quakers Quaker writers 1902 births 1992 deaths Place of death missing Writers from Manchester 20th-century English novelists British women novelists English women children's writers 20th-century British women writers People educated at Manchester High School for Girls 20th-century Quakers