Evelyn Whitaker

Born in Herne Bay, Kent, in 1844, Evelyn Whitaker became a prolific English writer for children. Reference works describe her fiction as charming, pure, and wholesome, and note her particular sensitivity to hardship, especially illness and poverty.

She studied at the Ladies College in Bedford Square and began her writing career with Miss Toosey’s Mission in 1878. Her books were published anonymously, a detail that gives her career an unusual, slightly hidden quality despite the steady popularity of her stories.

Whitaker died in 1929. Her work still circulates through public-domain and library collections, where readers can continue to discover her gentle, compassionate style.