Ellen Velvin

Born in Plymouth in 1862, she was the daughter of watchmaker James F. Velvin. One modern literary reference notes that she became a Fellow of the Zoological Society, which fits the deep and lasting interest in animals seen across her work.

Much of her writing centers on animals, both in fiction and nonfiction. Surviving listings of her books include Rataplan, a Rogue Elephant; and Other Stories, Tales Told at the Zoo, Behind the Scenes with Wild Animals, Wild-Animal Celebrities, From Jungle to Zoo, and Portraits at the Zoo. She also worked on The Training of Wild Animals with Frank Charles Bostock.

Around 1900, she appears to have moved to New York, where she continued writing. Records noted by literary databases suggest she was still active in the 1910s, and correspondence preserved by the Theodore Roosevelt Center shows her writing to President Theodore Roosevelt about dedicating a new book to him. Some sources give her death year as 1918, but the biographical record appears uncertain, so later details of her life are not fully clear.