Elisabeth Inglis-Jones facts for kids
Elisabeth Inglis-Jones (1900–1994) was a talented writer from Wales. She wrote many historical novels, which are stories set in the past. She was also known for writing about local history and the lives of famous people (biographies). Her first novel was Starved Fields, published in 1929. One of her books, Crumbling Pageant, became popular again in 2015.
Who Was Elisabeth Inglis-Jones?
Elisabeth Inglis-Jones was born in London in January 1900. She grew up in a small village called Derry Ormond in Wales. This village is now part of Ceredigion county. Her family had owned the Derry Ormond Estate since 1783. The old family house was taken down in 1953.
Around 1937, Inglis-Jones moved back to the London area. Later in her life, when she was in her late 80s, she lived in Camberley, Surrey. She passed away in 1994.
Her Journey as a Writer
Elisabeth Inglis-Jones started writing when she was a child. When she was about 12 or 13, she joined a writing group called The Scratch Society. She spent almost three years working on her first novel, Starved Fields, which was published in 1929.
One of her most famous books is Peacocks in Paradise. It was published in 1950 and reprinted in 1990. This book tells the story of Hafod Uchtryd, a historic Welsh mansion, and its first owner, Thomas Johnes (1748–1815).
Elisabeth Inglis-Jones wrote five other novels:
- Crumbling Pageant (1932, republished 2015)
- Pay Thy Pleasure (1939)
- The Loving Heart (1942)
- Lightly He Journeyed (1946)
- Aunt Albinia (1948)
She also wrote books about Welsh history. Her book The Story of Wales (1955) described houses that had been demolished since 1900.
Besides novels and history, she wrote biographies. These are books about real people's lives. Some of her biographies include:
- The Great Maria (1959), about the writer Maria Edgeworth
- The Lord of Burghley (1964), about William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
- Augustus Smith of Scilly (1964), about Augustus Smith, who owned the Isles of Scilly in the 1800s.
A reviewer named Jane Bowden praised Inglis-Jones's writing. She said that Inglis-Jones had a "great talent for story-telling" and a "lifelong passion for Wales." She called her a "great Welsh woman writer."
