Joyce Reason (December 1894 – 18 September 1974) was a British author of missionary biographies and historical fiction for young readers.''Who Was Who Among English and European Authors, 1931-1949'', Vol. 3, Gale Research Co., Detroit, 1978, p.1177

Life and works

Joyce Reason was born in

Canning Town Canning Town is a town in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, north of the Royal Victoria Dock. Its urbanisation was largely due to the creation of the dock. The area was part of the ancient parish and County Borough of West Ham, ...

, London. Her father, Will Reason, was a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister who campaigned and wrote around themes of social justice and poverty (books such as ''Poverty'', ''Drink and the Community'', ''Homes and Housing'', ''Christianity and Social Renewal''). Both her parents were university graduates. Reason contracted rickets as a child, which left her with a slight limp. In 1900, the Reason family was living in the North London suburb of

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet () is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards No ...

. She was educated at Milton Mount College in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, an educational institution for the daughters of Congregational ministers, although other pupils could attend. In a memoir of his great-aunt, Matthew Reason writes: "In following traces of her life, through both public archives and private collections in attics and cupboards, I discovered that as well as a writer she was an idealist, an evangelist, a bluestocking, a spinster, a crank, and a missionary." She was a keen

hiker A hike is a long, vigorous walking, walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer tim ...

and her article 'A Lone Woman's Hike from

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

' appeared in the first issue of the ''Hiker and Camper'' (February 1931). She was considered an authority on the

Kibbo Kift The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was a camping, hiking and handicraft group with ambitions to bring world peace. It was the first of three movements in England associated with the charismatic artist and writer John Hargrave (1894–1982). The Kindr ...

movement. Under the woodcraft name of Sea Otter, she was accorded at various times the titles of Skald (storyteller), Folklorist and Nomad Chief of the North. She left the movement in the 1930s due to its politicisation to begin a new career as a writer. Reason was a prolific author of popular missionary biographies and accounts of the work of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

. She wrote missionary biographies of Mary Aldersey of China, James Chalmers of Papua, Albert Cook of Uganda, William Kendall Gale of Madagascar,

Wilfred Grenfell Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell (28 February 1865 – 9 October 1940) was a British medical missionary to Newfoundland, who wrote books on his work and other topics. Early life and education He was born at Parkgate, Cheshire, England, on 28 F ...

of Labrador,

James Hannington James Hannington (3 September 1847 – 29 October 1885) was an English Anglican missionary and martyr. He was the first Anglican bishop of East Africa. Early life Hannington was born on 3 September 1847 at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex, Englan ...

of Uganda,

Griffith John Griffith John ( zh, t=楊格非, p=Yáng Géfēi; 14 December 1831 – 25 July 1912) was a Welsh Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Societ ...

of China, David Jones of Madagascar,

Liang Fa Liang Fa (1789–1855), also known by other names, was the second Chinese Protestant convert and the first Chinese Protestant minister and evangelist. He was ordained by Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary in the Qing Empire. ...

of China,

Henry Nott Henry Nott (1774–1844) was a British Protestant Christian missionary who lived and worked in Tahiti, in the Society Islands in Polynesia. Life Henry Nott was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire in 1774. He was one of the first missionaries sent o ...

of the South Seas, Ruatoka of Papua,

Bishop Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was metropolitan bishop ...

of New Zealand,

Howard Somervell Theodore Howard Somervell OBE, FRCS (16 April 1890 – 23 January 1975) was an English surgeon, mountaineer, painter and missionary who was a member of two expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s, and then spent nearly 40 years working ...

of India, and others. She also wrote popular biographies of

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

, Robert Browne,

Henry Barrowe Henry Barrow (or Barrowe) ( – 6 April 1593) was an English Separatist Puritan, or Brownist, who was executed for his views. He led the London underground church from 1587 to 1593; spent most of that time in prison; and wrote numerous works of ...

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

Isobel Kuhn Isobel Selina Miller Kuhn, born Isobel Selina Miller, aka, "Belle" (December 17, 1901 – March 20, 1957), known as Isobel Kuhn, was a Canadian Christian missionary to the Lisu people of Yunnan Province, China, and northern Thailand. She served w ...

and

Sadhu Sundar Singh St. Sundar Singh (3 September 1889 – 1929, believed), who is commonly referred as Sadhu Sundar Sing, was an Indian Christian missionary and ''saint, sadhu''. He is believed to have died in the foothills of the Himalayas in 1929. Life Earl ...

of India. In September 1951, Joyce Reason joined the headquarters staff of the Leprosy Mission as Editorial Secretary for a five-year term. She visited

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and Tanganyika to write an account of the Mission's work in East Africa, and also visited the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

settlement at

Chogoria Chogoria is a town located in Mwimbi Division of Tharaka-Nithi County of Kenya. It is located roughly 97 miles (about 186 km) from Nairobi. It is connected to the rest of the country by an all-weather, tarmacked road, the Meru-Nairobi highway. ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Joyce Reason was a noted advocate of Christian books and in 1950 was a featured speaker at the Christianity in Books Exhibition at Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, together with the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. She believed there was empirical evidence for the existence of the human soul. In response to a letter by a Professor Crew about life-termination by the individual, she suggested that the professor had not investigated evidence from ESP and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

for regarding our lives as a part of something "much larger and more enduring". Reason was noted as an author of historical fiction for young people. Reviewers praised her books for their well-researched historical backgrounds, strong stories and colourful personalities. Her novel ''The Mad Miller of Wareham'' is set in King John's time in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and concerns a plot to put

Arthur of Brittany Arthur I (; ) (29 March 1187 – presumably 1203) was 4th Earl of Richmond and Duke of Brittany between 1196 and 1203. He was the posthumous son of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, and Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Through Geoffrey, Arthur was t ...

on the throne. The towns, villages, abbeys and priories of

, where the tale is set, are creditably brought to light and more than one of the characters is drawn in the round and exists as a person. The novel ''To Capture the King'', concerns a Jacobite plot and smuggling on the

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

coast, with incidental glimpses of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

.The texture of history is less closely woven in this but the story is exciting. ''Bran the Bronze-Smith: A Tale of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

in the British Isles'' is a story a boy in prehistoric Britain who becomes a travelling smith and eventually a master smith. ''Swords of Iron'' is set in Pre-Roman Britain. ''The Secret Fortress'' deals in traditional style with the last age of

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

rule in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. ''The Queen's Champions'' is a story of a plot against

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

and how a young boy plays an important part in averting disaster. ''Red Pennons Flying'' is a tale set during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. She also wrote ''Dwifa's Curse: A Tale of the Stone Age'' under the nom-de-plume "Blue Wolf". It is set in Stone Age Britain, just at the time the earlier

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

people are coming into contact with later Stone Age people armed with the bow and more advanced in civilisation. She produced a number of works for the Sunday School "rewards" market which are still occasionally reprinted.Principally: ''Three Secret Seeds'' (1964), ''The Fire Escape'' (1965), ''Mrs Townsend and a Puppy'' (1967), ''Jim All Alone'' (1969), ''Josephine Jane'' (1970), and ''The Black and White Twins'' (1970). The copyrights of these and many of her other works are now held by

Lutterworth Press The Lutterworth Press, one of the oldest independent British publishing houses, has traded since the late eighteenth century, initially as the Religious Tract Society (RTS).

. For the last 20 years of her life at least, Joyce Reason, a Congregationalist by denomination, lived at 102 Addison Rd,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

. She was not married and for much of her life lived with her younger sister, the chemist and teacher Hazel Alden Reason, who was also unmarried. A number of her books have been translated into French, German and Swedish.

Selected juvenile fiction

*''Bran the Bronze-Smith''. Illustrated by the author. (1930, repr.1939,1961) *''Prentices and Clubs! A Tudor Tale''. (1947) *''The Secret Fortress''. (1949) *''Swords of Iron''. (1956) *''The Mad Miller of Wareham''. Illustrated by S. Van Abbé. (1949, repr.1954) *''The Queen's Champions''. Illustrated by Trevor Stubley. (1966) *''To Capture the King: The Story of a Jacobite Plot''. (1956)

References

External links

WorldCat Identities: Joyce Reason
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reason, Joyce English children's writers People from Canning Town People from West Ham Writers from the London Borough of Barnet Writers from the London Borough of Newham 1894 births 1974 deaths English biographers