E. M. Almedingen facts for kids

E. M. Almedingen (born Marta Aleksandrovna Almedingen) was a British writer. She wrote many books, including novels, biographies, and stories for children. She was also a member of the Royal Society of Literature.

Her Family Background

E. M. Almedingen had an interesting family history. On her mother's side, she came from the important Poltoratsky family. Her grandfather, Serge Poltoratzky, was a scholar who loved books. He spent his later years living in France and England.

His second wife, Ellen Sarah Southee, was from England. Their children grew up speaking English because they had English governesses. E. M. Almedingen's mother, Olga Sergeevna, grew up in Kent, England. But she was very interested in her father's Russian heritage. She moved to Russia in the 1800s. There, she married Alexander Almedingen, who was a scientist.

Her Early Life

In 1900, E. M. Almedingen's father left the family. After that, they became quite poor. Despite these challenges, she was able to attend the Xenia Institute in 1913. She worked hard to make a living during the difficult times of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War.

She earned top honors in history and literature at Xenia. In 1916, she moved to Petrograd University. She studied there until 1920, when she earned her first doctorate degree.

Her Writing Career

After finishing her studies in 1920, Almedingen taught English history and literature at Petrograd University. In 1923, she moved to England and started working as a journalist. She settled in Shropshire, living first in Worfield and later in Church Stretton by the time of the Second World War.

She began writing fiction, like her story "An Examination in Diplomacy." Over the next few decades, she published more than 60 books! She wrote many different types of books, from biographies to poetry. But she became especially famous for her children's novels.

Almedingen wrote two historical novels: The Lion of the North (1938), which was about Charles XII of Sweden, and Fair Haven (1956), about Peter the Great. In 1951, she also became a lecturer in Russian literature at Oxford University.

In 1941, she won a big award, the $5,000 Atlantic Monthly nonfiction prize. She won it for one of her autobiographical books called Tomorrow Will Come. Five years later, she moved to a house called Frogmore near Upton Magna in Shropshire. She lived there until she passed away.

Fiction Books

• “An Examination in Diplomacy” (1929)
• Young Catherine (1938)
• The Lion of the North: Charles XII, King of Sweden (1938)
• She Married Pushkin (1939)
• Frossia (1943)
• Dasha (1945)
• The Golden Sequence (1949; Published in England as The Inmost Heart)
• Flame on the Water (1952)
• Stand Fast, Beloved City (1954)
• A Very Far Country (1958; published in England as Life of Many Colours: The Story of Grandmother Ellen)
• Ground Corn (1955)
• Fair Haven (1956)
• Stephen's Light (1956)
• The Scarlet Goose (1957)
• Winter in the Heart (1960; published in England as The Little Stairway)
• Dark Splendour (1961)
• One Little Tree: A Christmas Card of a Finnish Landscape (1963)
• The Knights of the Golden Table (1963)
• The Treasure of Siegfried (1964)
• The Ladies at St. Hedwig's (1965)
• Little Katia (1966)
• Young Mark: The Story of a Venture (1967)
• Candle at Dusk (1969)
• Too Early Lilac (1970)
• Ellen (1970)
• The Crimson Oak (1983)

Non-fiction Books

• Pilgrimage of a Soul (1934)
• Through Many Windows Opened by the Book of Common Prayer (1935)
• From Rome to Canterbury (1937)
• Tomorrow Will Come (1941, 1961, 1964)
• Dom Benard Clements: A Portrait (1945)
• The Almond Tree (1947)
• Within the Harbour (1950)
• Late Arrival (1952)
• So Dark a Stream: A Study of the Emperor Paul I of Russia, 1754-1801 (1959)
• The Young Pavlova (1960)
• Catherine: Empress of Russia (1961)
• The Empress Alexandra, 1872-1918: A Study (1961)
• The Emperor Alexander II: A Study (1962)
• Catherine the Great: A Portrait (1963)
• The Young Leonardo da Vinci (1963)
• The Emperor Alexander I (1964)
• A Picture History of Russia (1964)
• An Unbroken Unity: A Memoir of Grand Duchess Serge of Russia, 1864-1918 (1964)
• The Young Catherine the Great (1965)
• Retreat from Moscow (1966)
• St. Francis of Assisi (1967)
• The Romanovs: Three Centuries of an Ill-Fated Dynasty (1967)
• Charlemagne: A Study (1968)
• I Remember St. Petersburg (1969)
• Land of Muscovy: The History of Early Russia (1972)
• Anna (1972)

Poetry Books

• “Poloniae Testamentum” (1942)
• “Out of Seir” (1943)
• The Unnamed Stream and Other Poems (1965)

Plays

• Storm at Westminster: A Play in Twelve Scenes (1952)

Compilations

• Russian Fairy Tales (1958)
• Russian Folk and Fairy Tales (1963)
• Fanny (Frances Hermione de Poltoratzky, 1850-1916) (1970)

Translations

• The Lord's Passion (1940)

See also

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In Spanish: E. M. Almedingen para niños