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Eden Phillpotts
Picture of Eden Phillpotts.jpg
Born (1862-11-04)4 November 1862
Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India
Died 29 December 1960(1960-12-29) (aged 98)
Broad Clyst, Devon
Children Adelaide Phillpotts
Relatives Henry Phillpotts (great-uncle)
James Surtees Phillpotts (second cousin)

Eden Phillpotts (born November 4, 1862 – died December 29, 1960) was a famous English writer. He wrote many different kinds of stories, poems, and plays. He was born in India but grew up in England. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked in insurance and even tried acting!

Life Story of Eden Phillpotts

Eden Phillpotts had some interesting family connections. His great-uncle was Henry Phillpotts, who was a Bishop in Exeter. His second cousin, James Surtees Phillpotts, was a well-known headmaster at Bedford School.

Eden was born in Mount Abu, India, in 1862. His dad, Henry, was an officer in the Indian Army. His mom, Adelaide, was the daughter of another officer in India.

When Eden was just three years old, his father passed away. His mother, Adelaide, was only 21. She moved back to England with her three young sons, and they settled in Plymouth.

Eden went to Mannamead School in Plymouth. Back then, he didn't show much interest in writing. At 17, in 1879, he moved to London to find work. He got a job as a clerk at the Sun Fire Office.

Eden really wanted to be an actor. He took evening classes at a drama school for two years. But he soon realized that acting wasn't his strong suit. He thought he might be better at writing instead. So, in his free time, he started writing small stories and selling them. Eventually, he left his insurance job to focus on writing. He also worked part-time as an assistant editor for a magazine called Black and White.

For the next 50 years, Eden Phillpotts wrote a lot! He published about three or four books every year. He wrote poems, short stories, novels, plays, and even mystery tales. Many of his novels were about life in the countryside of Devon, England. Some of his plays were special because they used the local way of speaking, called dialect.

Eden Phillpotts passed away at his home in Broadclyst, near Exeter, Devon, in 1960.

Eden Phillpotts' Interests and Friends

For many years, Eden Phillpotts was the leader of the Dartmoor Preservation Association. This shows how much he cared about protecting the beautiful natural area of Dartmoor. He was also a supporter of the Rationalist Press Association, a group that encouraged people to think logically and question things.

Eden Phillpotts was good friends with the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie. She really admired his work and often visited his home. Agatha Christie even dedicated her 1932 novel, Peril at End House, to him. In her own life story, she thanked him for his early advice on writing fiction. Another famous writer, Jorge Luis Borges, also loved Phillpotts' work. Borges mentioned him many times and even included his books in his "Personal Library."

What Eden Phillpotts Wrote

Phillpotts wrote many books that were set in the Dartmoor area. One of his novels, Widecombe Fair (1913), was inspired by a yearly fair in the village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor. This novel later became the basis for his funny play, The Farmer's Wife (1916). This play was so popular that it was made into a silent film in 1928, directed by the famous Alfred Hitchcock. It was also remade as a film in 1941 and became a BBC TV show in 1955.

Eden Phillpotts is best known for his many novels, plays, and poems about Dartmoor. He wrote a series of 18 novels and two short story collections about the area. Many people still enjoy reading them today.

He also wrote a series of novels that were set in different workplaces or industries. For example, Brunel's Tower was about a pottery, and Storm in a Teacup was about making paper by hand. Among his other works is The Grey Room, a mystery about a haunted room in an old English house. He wrote several other mystery novels, sometimes using his own name and sometimes using the pen name Harrington Hext. Some of these include The Thing at Their Heels and The Red Redmaynes. He also wrote The Human Boy, a collection of stories about schoolboys. Later in his career, he wrote some books for science fiction and fantasy fans, like Saurus, which is about an alien lizard watching human life.

Images for kids

  • Postbridge Clapper Bridge 2005-07-21

    The clapper bridge at Postbridge, a place featured in Phillpotts' novel The Thief of Virtue.

List of Works

Novels

  • The End of a Life (1891)
  • Folly and Fresh Air (1891)
  • A Tiger's Club (1892)
  • A Deal with the Devil (1895)
  • Some Every-day Folks (1895)
  • My Laughing Philosopher (1896)
  • Down Dartmoor Way (1896)
  • Lying Prophets: A Novel (1897)
  • Children of the Mist (1898)
  • Sons of the Morning (1900)
  • The Good Red Earth (1901)
  • The River (1902)
  • Old Delabole (1903)
  • The Golden Fetich (1903)
  • The American Prisoner (1904)
  • The Farm of the Dagger (1904)
  • The Secret Woman (1905)
  • The Poacher's Wife (1906) AKA Daniel Sweetland (1906)
  • The Sinews of War: A Romance of London and the Sea (1906) with Arnold Bennett
  • Doubloons (1906) with Arnold Bennett
  • The Portreeve (1906)
  • The Whirlwind (1907)
  • The Human Boy Again (1908)
  • The Mother (1908)
  • The Virgin in Judgment (1908) AKA A Fight to Finish (1911)
  • The Statue: A Story of International Intrigue and Mystery (1908) with Arnold Bennett
  • The Three Brothers (1909)
  • The Fun of the Fair (1909)
  • The Haven (1909)
  • The Flint Heart: A Fairy Story (1910)
  • The Thief of Virtue (1910)
  • The Beacon (1911)
  • Demeter's Daughter (1911)
  • The Three Knaves (1912)
  • The Forest on the Hill (1912)
  • The Lovers: A Romance (1912)
  • Widecombe Fair (1913)
  • The Joy of Youth (1913)
  • The Old Time Before Them (1913)
  • Faith Tresilion (1914)
  • The Master of Merripit (1914)
  • Brunel's Tower (1915)
  • The Green Alleys: A Comedy (1916)
  • The Human Boy and the War (1916)
  • The Banks of Colne: (the Nursery) (1917)
  • The Girl and the Faun (1917)
  • The Spinners (1918)
  • From the Angle of Seventeen (1912)
  • Evander (1919)
  • Storm in a Teacup (1919)
  • Miser's Money (1920)
  • Eudocia (1921)
  • The Grey Room (1921)
  • The Bronze Venus (1921)
  • Orphan Dinah (1920)
  • The Red Redmaynes (1922)
  • Pan and the Twins (1922)
  • Number 87 (1922)
  • The Thing at Their Heels (1923)
  • Cheat-the-boys; a Story of the Devonshire Orchards (1924)
  • Redcliff (1924)
  • The Treasures of Typhon (1924)
  • The Lavender Dragon (1924)
  • Who Killed Diana? (1924)
  • Circé's Island (1924)
  • A Voice from the Dark (1925)
  • The Monster (1925)
  • George Westover (1926)
  • The Marylebone Miser (1926) AKA Jig-Saw (1926)
  • Cornish Droll: A Novel (1926)
  • The Miniature (1926)
  • The Jury (1927)
  • Arachne (1928)
  • Children of Men (1928)
  • The Ring Fence (1928)
  • Tryphena (1929)
  • The Apes (1929)
  • The Three Maidens (1930)
  • Alcyone (a Fairy Story) (1930)
  • "Found Drowned" (1931)
  • A Clue from the Stars (1932)
  • The Broom Squires (1932)
  • Stormbury, A Story of Devon (1932)
  • The Captain's Curio (1933)
  • Bred in the Bone (1933)
  • Witch's Cauldron (1933)
  • Nancy Owlett (1933)
  • Minions of the Moon (1934)
  • Ned of the Caribbees (1934)
  • Portrait of a Gentleman (1934)
  • Mr. Digweed and Mr. Lumb: A Mystery Novel (1934)
  • The Oldest Inhabitant: A Comedy (1934)
  • A Close Call (1936)
  • The Owl of Athene (1936)
  • The White Camel: A Story of Arabia (1936)
  • The Anniversary Murder (1936)
  • The Wife of Elias: A Mystery Novel (1937)
  • Wood-nymph (1937)
  • Farce in Three Acts (1937)
  • Portrait of a Scoundrel (1938)
  • Saurus (1938)
  • Lycanthrope, the Mystery of Sir William Wolf (1938)
  • Dark Horses (1938)
  • Golden Island (1938)
  • Thorn in Her Flesh (1939)
  • Tabletop (1939) with Arnold Bennett
  • Monkshood (1939)
  • Chorus of Clowns (1940)
  • Goldcross (1940)
  • Awake Deborah! (1941)
  • Ghostwater (1941)
  • The Deed Without a Name (1942)
  • Pilgrims of the Night (1942)
  • A Museum Piece (1943)
  • Flower of the Gods (1943)
  • The Changeling (1944)
  • The Drums of Dombali (1945)
  • They Were Seven: (A Mystery) (1945)
  • Quartet (1946)
  • The Fall of the House of Heron (1948)
  • Address Unknown (1949)
  • The Waters of Walla (1950)
  • Through a Glass Darkly (1951)
  • George and Georgina: A Mystery Story (1952)
  • His Brother's Keeper (1953)
  • The Widow Garland (1955)
  • Connie Woodland (1956)
  • Giglet Market (1957)
  • There Was an Old Man (1959)

Short Fiction Books

  • My Adventure in the Flying Scotsman; a Romance of London and North-Western Railway Shares (1888)
  • The Human Boy (1899)
  • Loup-garou! (1899)
  • Summer Clouds and Other Stories (1893)
  • Fancy Free (1901)
  • The Striking Hours (1901)
  • The Transit of the Red Dragon: And Other Tales (1903)
  • Knock at a Venture (1905)
  • The Unlucky Number (1906)
  • The Folk Afield (1907)
  • Tales of the Tenements (1910)
  • The Judge's Chair (1914)
  • The Human Boy and the War (1916)
  • Chronicles of St. Tid (1918)
  • Black, White, and Brindled (1923)
  • Up Hill, Down Dale: A Volume of Short Stories (1925)
  • Peacock House and Other Mysteries (1926)
  • It happened Like That, a New Volume of Short Stories (1928)
  • Brother Man (1928)
  • The Torch and Other Tales (1929)
  • Cherry Gambol and Other Stories (1930)
  • They Could Do No Other: A Volume of Stories (1932)
  • Once upon a Time (1936)
  • The Hidden Hand (1952)

Poetry

  • Up-Along and Down-Along (1905)
  • Wild Fruit (1911)
  • The Iscariot (1912)
  • Delight and Other Poems (1916)
  • Plain Song (1917)
  • A Shadow Passes [Observations and Poems] (1918)
  • As the Wind Blows (1920)
  • A Dish of Apples (1921)
  • Pixies' Plot (1922)
  • Thoughts in Prose and Verse (1924)
  • Cherry-Stones (1924)
  • A Harvesting (1924)
  • Brother Beast (1928)
  • Goodwill (1928)
  • For Remembrance (1929)
  • A Hundred Sonnets (1929)
  • A Hundred Lyrics (1930)
  • Becoming (1932)
  • Song of a Sailor Man: A Narrative Poem (1933)
  • Sonnets from Nature (1935)
  • A Dartmoor Village (1937)
  • Miniatures (1942)
  • The Enchanted Wood (1948)
  • One Thing and Another [Essays and poems.] (1954)

Plays

  • The Prude's Progress: A Comedy with Jerome K. Jerome (1895)
  • A Golden Wedding: An Original Comedy in One Act (1899)
  • A Breezy Morning (1904)
  • A Pair of Knickerbockers (1900)
  • Curtain Raisers (1912)
  • The Shadow; A Play in Three Acts (1913)
  • The Mother: A Play in Four Acts (1914)
  • The Secret Woman; A Play in Five Acts (1914)
  • The Angel in the House: A Comedy in Three Acts (1915)
  • The Farmer's Wife (1916)
  • Arachne; A Play (1920) By Adelaide Eden Phillpotts
  • St. George and the Dragons: A Comedy in Three Acts (1919) AKA *The bishop's night out (1929)
  • The Market-Money. A Play in One Act (1923)
  • Bed Rock: A Comedy in Three Acts (1924)
  • Devonshire Cream: A Comedy in Three Acts (1925)
  • A Comedy Royal (1925) Dramatization of Eudocia (1921)
  • Yellow Sands (1926)
  • Blue Comet (1927)
  • The Runaways: A Comedy in Three Acts (1928)
  • Three Short Plays: The Market-money; Something to Talk about; The Purple Bedroom (1928)
  • Buy a Broom: A Comedy in Three Acts (1929)
  • Jane's Legacy: A Folk Play in Three Acts (1931)
  • The Good Old Days: A Comedy in Three Acts (1932) with his daughter
  • Bert: A Play in One Act (1932)
  • A Cup of Happiness: A Comedy (1933)
  • At the 'bus-stop: A Duologue for Two Women (1943)
  • The Orange Orchard (1951) Based on The Waters of Walla

Nonfiction

  • In Sugar-Cane Land (1890)
  • My Garden (1906)
  • Dance of the Months. [Sketches of Dartmoor and poems.] (1911)
  • My Shrubs (1915)
  • My Devon Year (1916)
  • One Hundred Pictures from Eden Phillpotts / Selected by L.H. Brewitt (1919)
  • A West Country Pilgrimage (1920) [Essays and verse.]
  • A West Country Sketch Book (1928) Essays from Dance of the Months and A West Country Pilgrimage with one new essay.
  • Essays in Little (1931)
  • Handmade Paper: Its Method of Manufacture as Described in the Novel "Storm in a Teacup" (1932)
  • A Year with Bisshe-Bantam (1934)
  • A Mixed Grill (1940) Essays.
  • From the Angle of 88 (1951)
  • Selected Letters (1984)

Omnibus Collections

  • Three plays: The shadows; The mother; The secret woman (1913)
  • Circe's Island and The Girl & The Faun (1925)
  • The Complete Human Boy. Comprising "The Human Boy," "The Human Boy Again," "The Human Boy and the War," "The Human Boy's Diary," "From the Angle of Seventeen," Etc. (1930)
  • West Country Plays (1933) [Buy a Broom and A Cup of Happiness.]
  • The Book of Avis: A Trilogy Comprising Bred in the Bone, Witch's Cauldron, A Shadow Passes [1936]
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