Florence V. (Florence Valentine) Barry

Florence V. Barry, also listed as Florence Valentine Barry, is known for A Century of Children’s Books, first published in London by Methuen in 1922. The book is a study of children’s literature and bibliography, tracing important books and reading trends across the long eighteenth century and into the early nineteenth century.

In the preface, Barry says the book began at Oxford before the First World War, when she was a student in Sir Walter Raleigh’s class. She signs the preface "F. V. B." and is identified on the title page as holding a B.Litt., which suggests a strong academic background behind her work.

Very little biographical information about her seems easy to confirm from standard public sources today, so most of what can be said with confidence comes from her book itself and library records. Even so, her work remains a useful and appealing contribution to the history of children’s reading, especially for listeners who enjoy classic literary scholarship.