Meta Mayne Reid (1905–1991) was a Northern Irish children's writer.

Early life and education

Meta Mayne Reid was born to Marcus and Elvina Hopkins in

Woodlesford Woodlesford () is a suburban village in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, south-east of Leeds city centre. Formerly part of the Rothwell Urban District, it is now within the Rothwell ward of Leeds City Council. The village sits o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

in 1905 and grew up there although her family was from

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in Ireland. She had one sister, Audrey. She was educated at home through governesses before going to

Leeds Girls' High School Leeds Girls' High School (LGHS) was an independent, selective, fee-paying school for girls aged 3–18 founded in 1876 in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It merged with Leeds Grammar School in 2005 to form The Grammar School at ...

. Mayne Reid went on to attend

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Unive ...

. Later she moved to

Crawfordsburn Crawfordsburn () is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. The village, which is now effectively a commuter suburb, lies between Holywood and Bangor to the north of the A2 road, about 4 km west of Bangor town centre. Bounded ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

when her parents returned to the north of Ireland and there she was married to Dr E. Mayne Reid.

Work

It was in

that she set most of her novels, both historical fiction and modern settings with a fantasy side. She wrote more than twenty children's novels as well as two novels for adults and one collection of poetry. Reid was involved with the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

chapter of

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity w ...

as both secretary and, from 1970 to 1972, president.

Bibliography

Novels

*''The Land Is Dear'', 1936 *''Far-Off Fields Are Green'', 1937

Children's books

*''Phelim and the Creatures'', 1952 *''Carrigmore Castle'', 1954 *''All Because of Dawks'', 1955 *''Dawks Does It Again'', 1956 *''The Cuckoo at Coolnean'', 1956 *''Tiffany and the Swallow Rhyme'', 1956 *''Dawks on Robbers' Mountain'', 1957 *''Dawks and the Duchesss'', 1958 *''Strangers in Carrigmore'', 1958 *''The McNeills at Rathcapple'', 1959 *''Storm on Kildoney'', 1961 *''Sandy and the Hollow Book'', 1961 *''The Tobermillin Oracle'', 1962 *''With Angus in the Forest'', 1963 *''The Tinkers' Summer'', 1965 *''The Silver Fighting Cocks'', 1966 *''The House at Spaniard's Bay'', 1967 *''The Glen Beyond the Door'', 1968 *''The Two Rebels'', 1969 *''Beyond the Wide World's End'', 1972 *''The Plotters of Pollnashee'', 1973 *''Snowbound by the Whitewater'', 1975 *''The Noguls and the Horse'', 1976 *''A Dog Called Scampi'', 1980

Poetry

*''No Ivory Tower'', 1974

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayne Reid, Meta 1905 births 1991 deaths 20th-century British women writers Irish children's writers Irish women children's writers British children's writers British women children's writers