Ellin Devis facts for kids

Ellin Devis (born December 1746, died February 1820) was an English teacher and writer. She is best known for writing The Accidence (1775), a very popular English grammar book in the 1700s.

About Ellin Devis

Ellin Devis was born in December 1746 in the United Kingdom. Her parents were Arthur Devis and Elizabeth Faulkner. She was one of six children who grew up, out of twenty-two born to her parents. Her brothers and sisters included Frances, Thomas Anthony, Arthur William, Elizabeth, and Ann.

Ellin came from a very artistic family. Her father, Arthur Devis, was famous for his "conversation pieces" (paintings of groups of people). Her brother Arthur William was known for historical portraits, and her brother Thomas painted beautiful landscapes.

Ellin Devis's Teaching Career

Ellin Devis wrote The Accidence in 1775. This book might have been the first English grammar book made especially for girls. Other teachers at the time suggested her grammar book as a good way to learn before reading more advanced books like Robert Lowth's Short Introduction to English Grammar.

Devis taught at several schools in fashionable parts of London. Some of her famous students included Maria Edgeworth, Frances Burney (and her sister Susannah), and Hester Thrale (and later her daughter Cecilia Piozzi).

When Devis was the head teacher of the school in Queen's Square in Bloomsbury, England, it was known as "the Young Ladies Eton." This meant it was a very important and respected school for girls, much like Eton College was for boys.

Ellin Devis had a special way of teaching that made her very successful. By the time she passed away in 1820, she had earned enough money to own the school herself.

Books by Ellin Devis

Ellin Devis wrote several books, mostly for young people:

• The Accidence or First Rudiments of English Grammar Designed for the use of Young Ladies (1775)
• Miscellaneous lessons: designed for the use of young ladies (1782)
• The Infant's Miscellany (1778)