author
Frances Freeling Broderip
1830–1878
A Victorian writer best remembered for stories and verses for children, she came from a literary family and also helped preserve her father Thomas Hood’s legacy. Her work mixes warmth, moral feeling, and the lively, domestic tone that made 19th-century children’s books so popular.
1 Audiobook
Tales of the Toys, Told by Themselves
by Frances Freeling Broderip
About the author
Born at Winchmore Hill, Middlesex, in 1830, Frances Freeling Broderip was the daughter of the poet Thomas Hood and the sister of Tom Hood. She married the Rev. John Somerville Broderip in 1849 and built a literary career of her own, writing chiefly for young readers.
She published poetry and fiction, including Way-Side Fancies and a range of children's books and tales. Reference sources describe her as a children's writer, and her career appears closely connected to the family’s literary world: she also edited works by her father, helping keep his writing in circulation after his death.
Broderip died on November 3, 1878. Though not as widely known now as some of her contemporaries, she remains an interesting figure in Victorian literature for readers drawn to 19th-century children's writing and to the remarkable Hood family.