author
Eleanor Raper
Best known for the children's story The Little Girl Lost, this early-20th-century writer set an adventure tale in Peking and followed a young English girl through danger, friendship, and escape. Her work has stayed in circulation through public-domain archives, giving modern readers a window into older children's fiction and its view of life in China.
1 Audiobook
The Little Girl Lost A Tale for Little Girls
by Eleanor Raper
About the author
Very little confirmed biographical information about Eleanor Raper is easy to find in reliable online sources. What can be verified is that she wrote The Little Girl Lost: A Tale for Little Girls, published in London by Grant Richards in 1902.
The novel follows Nelly Grey, a young English girl living in the British Legation compound in Peking, and mixes childhood adventure with scenes of cross-cultural encounter and peril. Because the book is available through Project Gutenberg, it has remained accessible to new generations of readers long after its original publication.
In the absence of solid personal records online, Eleanor Raper is best approached through her surviving work itself: a compact children's novel from the Edwardian era, shaped by imperial settings, brisk storytelling, and a strong sense of youthful courage.