Mabel Esther Allan

Mabel Esther Allan
Born 11 February 1915
Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula, England
Died 14 May 1998
Pen name Jean Estoril, Priscilla Hagon, Anne Pilgrim
Occupation Writer
Nationality British
Genre Children's novels: school stories, ballet stories
Notable works Dundonay House series, Wood Street series, Pine Street series, Crumble Lane series, Drina series

Mabel Esther Allan (11 February 1915 – 14 May 1998) was a British author of about 170 children's books.[1]

Biography

Mabel Esther Allan was born at Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula, then in Cheshire (now Merseyside).[1] She decided to be an author at the age of eight; her father bought her a writing desk and taught her how to type.[2] When the family moved, Allan was given a study in which to write.

Her eyesight was poor, which her parents 'took...very badly and wrongly'.[3] It was such a taboo subject that she never discussed it with anyone until she was almost thirty, when it spontaneously improved.[3] Her eyesight was the reason she disliked school.

She published a few short stories in the 1930s, and had longer submissions accepted, but her activities were interrupted by the Second World War.[4] Allan served in the Women's Land Army and taught at a crowded school in Liverpool.[4] In 1945 she sent the manuscript of The Glen Castle Mystery to her publisher, and this first book was published in 1948.[1] Like L.M. Montgomery's characters, she began her writing her books with a 'Flash': a sense of possessing a landscape for a story. 'It was the basis of all my writing', she commented in a 2006 foreword to Chiltern Adventure.[5]

Work

Although like many authors of the era, Allan often used the school book genre, she was a proponent of A.S. Neill, founder of an educational philosophy which promoted freedom and self-discipline in childhood.[6] Her schools, significantly, were co-educational.

Her books include adventure stories, mysteries, stories about families and local communities, school stories and ballet stories. She wrote for various ages and her books did not follow a "settled pattern."[7] Her ballet stories include the Drina series and the Ballet Family series written under the pen-name Jean Estoril. She also wrote under the pen-names Priscilla Hagon and Anne Pilgrim.[7] Most of her books were standalones but she did pen a few series, such as two series about groups of modern city children: the Wood Street Gang from Liverpool and the boys and girls of Almond House flats who attend Pine Street School.

Selected books

Dundonay House Series

Wood Street Series

Pine Street Series

Crumble Lane Series

Drina Series – as Jean Estoril

The Drina Books are a series of novels about a young girl who wishes to be a ballerina. Drina lost both her parents at a very young age and lives with her grandparents. Her mother was a prima ballerina, but Drina's grandmother blames ballet for the death of her daughter and hence dissuades Drina from dancing. However, in the second book Drina gets her wish and goes to the fictional Dominick Ballet School at Red Lion Square, London.

Drina's announcement of her engagement baffles Igor Jr. who fancies himself in love with her. He then turns to Rose which angers her because she knows he is only with her because Drina won't have him. Rose takes some of this hurt out on Drina. The problems between the two are further exacerbated when the Dominick company decides to put on the ballet Drina made in Switzerland (Drina Dances in Switzerland) with Drina in the lead role. The secret of Drina's mother was revealed to the world in the previous book and so the information that Ivory's daughter is dancing in a ballet she created causes a sensation. Drina's ballet is successful and she has found her dancing partner, Igor. Despite the fact there is nothing but friendship between them off-stage, on-stage they have powerful chemistry. Mr. Dominick and Madame Volonaise express some regret that the two did not mesh off stage, but both like Grant anyway.
Drina's dancing career is off to a good start and will soon receive a boost. The film of her mother's last ballet The Breton Wedding is shown on TV. This showing and Drina's dancing ability (very like her mother's) encourages Mr. Dominick to revive the ballet. Drina is to dance the lead role of Josette while Igor will be the doomed lover. The ballet is met with critical and commercial success. After the initial run of the ballet, Drina marries Grant in a small ceremony. They will move into a flat that is a few houses down from her grandparents after their honeymoon in New York. The book ends with Drina and Grant flying to New York as newlyweds. Drina has realised her dream to be a ballerina and has married the man she fell in love with when she was fourteen (Drina Dances in New York).

The Ballet Family

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Mabel Esther Allan Papers". de Grummond Children's Literature Collection. The University of Southern Mississippi. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Allan, ii.
  3. 1 2 Allan, i.
  4. 1 2 Robertson, Fidra Books website.
  5. ↑ Allan, vi.
  6. ↑ Allan, xiii.
  7. 1 2 Ellis, Anne W. (1995). "Allan, Mabel Esther". In Berger, Laura Standley. Twentieth Century Children's Writers (4th ed.). Detroit: St. James Press. pp. 16–21. ISBN 9781558621770.
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