Mary Evelyn Frankau, née Atkinson (20 June 1899 in London – 20 July 1974), writing as M. E. Atkinson, was a prolific English
children's writer
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
.
She was best known for her series on the Lockett family Series – children's
adventure stories
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction.
History
In the introduction to the ''Encycloped ...
typical of the 1940s and 1950s, and written from a
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
viewpoint. Her Fricka series was mostly about
ponies
A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...
, and was generally viewed as only middling quality for the
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
. Although never in the first rank of children's writers, she was especially good at creating un-
stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
d and interesting characters. Her earlier works were better received critically than her later works.
Bibliography
One-act
plays
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
*''Here Lies Matilda'' 1931
*''The Day's Good Cause'' 1935
*''The Chimney Corner: A Play for Women in One Act" 1936''*"T
*''Beginner's Luck'' 1936
*''Crab-Apple Harvest'' 1936
*''Going Rustic'' 1936
*''Can the Leopard?'' 1939
Lockett series
*''August Adventure'' 1936
*''Mystery Manor'' 1937
*''The Compass Points North'' 1938
*''Smugglers' Gap'' 1939
*''Going Gangster'' 1940
*''Crusoe Island'' 1941
*''Challenge to Adventure'' 1942
*''The Monster of Widgeon Weir'' 1943
*''The Nest of the Scarecrow'' 1944
*''Problem Party'' 1945
*''Chimney Cottage'' 1947
*''The House on the Moor'' 1948
*''The Thirteenth Adventure'' 1949
*''Steeple Folly'' 1950
Fricka series
*''Castaway Camp'' 1951
*''Hunter's Moon'' 1952
*''The Barnstormers'' 1953
*''Unexpected Adventure'' 1955
*''Riders and Raids'' 1955
Other stories
*''Horseshoes and Handlebars'' 1958
*''Where there's a Will ...'' 1961
References
1899 births
1974 deaths
English children's writers
20th-century English novelists
20th-century British women writers
Writers from London
{{UK-child-writer-stub