Elfrida Vipont

Elfrida Vipont was the pen name of Elfrida Vipont Foulds (July 3, 1902-14 March 1992),^[1][2][3] a British children's author. She was also a schoolteacher and a prominent member of the Society of Friends in England.

Contents 1 Parentage and education 2 Life 3 Writing career 4 Legacy 5 Publications 6 References 7 External links

Parentage and education

She was born in Manchester in July 1902,^[4] the youngest daughter of Edward Vipont Brown (1863–1955), a General practitioner^[5] and Dorothy Brown (née Crowley) (1874–1968).^[6] Her parents were Quakers and she had two siblings.^[7][8] having served on this body from 1939. She retired from it in 1985.^[4] She also served on the Friends Service Council, the Friends Education Council, the Library Committee and the Friends Historical Society Executive Committee. She was also a long-serving member of the Ackworth School Committee. She also served on the Committee that arranged for Quakers' annual gathering, "Yearly Meeting", and assisting in the revision of the "Book of Discipline".^[4]

Life

She tried a career as a singer.^[9] In 1926, she married a research technologist, R. Percy Foulds. They had four daughters and she started her writing career during their early years.^[4] She became a teacher and was Head of the Quaker School operated during the Second World War at Yealand Conyers.

Writing career

Her best-known books are The Lark in the Morn (1948) and The Lark on the Wing (1950), the latter of which won the Carnegie Medal that year.

A picture book for young children, The Elephant and the Bad Baby (1969), with illustrations by Raymond Briggs has become globally popular. She wrote a number of books in the 'Gazelle' and 'Reindeer' series, for younger readers.^[4] The Elephant and the Bad Baby is a "cumulative story" with a "poetic feel", a common effect drawn from the picture-book format of the text.^[10] The story is about a baby who refuses to say please and goes romping through town on the back of an elephant while being chased by various townspeople.

Legacy

Her personal papers are at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester.^[11]

Publications

• Ackworth School, from its foundation in 1779 to the introduction of co-education in 1946, Lutterworth Press, 1959.
• Arnold Rowntree: a life, Bannisdale Press, 1955.^[12]
• Bed in Hell, Hamilton, 1974.
• The Birthplace of Quakerism: a handbook for the 1652 country, 5th revised ed. Quaker Home Service, 1997.
• Bless This Day: a book of prayer for children, 1958.
• The Bridge, 1962.
• The Candle of the Lord, 1983.
• A Child of the Chapel Royal, illustrated by John Lawrence, University Press, 1967.
• The China Dog, illustrated by Constance Marshall, H. Hamilton, 1967.
• Colin Writes to Friends House, Friends’ Book Centre, 1934.
• The Elephant and the Bad Baby, illustrations by Raymond Briggs, Hamilton, 1969.
• A Faith to Live By, 1962.
• The Family of Dowbiggins, illustrated by T. R. Freeman, Lutterworth Press, 1955.
• George Fox and the Valiant Sixty, 1975.
• Good Adventure: The Quest for Music in Britain, 1931.
• The High Way, 1957.
• The Lark in the Morn, illustrated by T. R. Freeman, Oxford University Press, 1948.
• The Lark on the Wing, Oxford University Press, 1950.
• Larry Lopkins, illustrated by Pat Marriott, Hamish Hamilton, 1965.
• Let Your Lives Speak: a key to Quaker experience, Wallingford, Pennsylvania: Pendle Hill, 1953.
• A Lily among Thorns: some passages in the life of Margaret Fell of Swarthmoor Hall, FHSC, 1950.
• Living in the Kingdom, 1955.
• Michael and the Dogs, 1969.
• The Pavilion, 1969.
• Quakerism - a Faith to Live By, Bannisdale Press, 1966.
• Rescue for Mittens, illustrated by Jane Paton, Hamish Hamilton, 1965.
• Search for a Song, illustrated by Peter Edwards. Oxford University Press, 1962.
• The Secret of Orra, with illustrations, Basil Blackwell, 1957.
• The Secret Passage, illustrated by Ian Ribbons, H. Hamilton, 1967.
• So Numerous a Family: 200 years of Quaker education at Ackworth, 1779-1979, with Edward H. Milligan, 1979.
• Some Christian Festivals - to which is appended a brief glossary of Christian terminology, Michael Joseph, London, 1963
• Sparks among the Stubble, illustrated by Patricia M. Lambe, Friends Home Service Committee, 1971. Originally published, London: Oxford University Press, 1950.
• The Spring of the Year, illustrated by T. R. Freeman, Oxford University Press, 1957.
• Stevie, illustrated by Raymond Briggs, Hamish Hamilton, 1965.
• The Story of Christianity in Britain, illustrated by Gaynor Chapman, Michael Joseph, 1960.
• The Story of Quakerism, etc. (2nd edition.) Bannisdale Press: London, 1960 (First published 1954).
• Terror by Night: a book of strange stories, 1966.
• Towards a High Attic: the early life of George Eliot, Hamilton, 1970.
• Weaver of Dreams: the girlhood of Charlotte Brontë, Hamilton, 1966.
• What about Religion? illustrations by Peter Roberson, Museum Press, 1961.
• Why Young Friends? 1987.
• A Win for Henry Conyers, illustrated by T.R. Freeman, Hamilton, 1968. Originally published as More about Dowbiggins, 1958.

For a booklist organised by category, see Fantastic Fiction (accessed 7 December 2007)

References

External links

• Collecting Books and Magazines article on Elfrida Vipont, including extensive booklists.

Persondata
Name	Vipont, Elfrida
Alternative names	Elfrida Vipont Foulds, Elfrida Brown
Short description
Date of birth	3 July 1902
Place of birth
Date of death	1992
Place of death