Bertha Upton

author

Bertha Upton

1849–1912

Best known as the writer behind the early Golliwogg books, she worked with her daughter Florence Kate Upton to create a hugely popular series for children in the 1890s. Her place in literary history is tied to that collaboration and to a character now widely recognized as racist and deeply harmful.

1 Audiobook

The Adventure of Two Dutch Dolls and a 'Golliwogg'

The Adventure of Two Dutch Dolls and a 'Golliwogg'

by Bertha Upton

About the author

Born in 1849, Bertha Upton was the mother of illustrator Florence Kate Upton. After the death of Florence's father, Bertha supported the family by giving voice lessons at home, while Florence began professional illustration work.

In the 1890s, mother and daughter collaborated on children's books in England and the United States. Bertha wrote the stories and Florence supplied the drawings, beginning with The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a "Golliwogg" in 1895.

Those books were commercially successful and became closely associated with the Golliwogg character. Today, Bertha Upton is remembered mainly through that collaboration, which is also viewed in the context of the racist imagery the series helped popularize. She died in 1912.