Elsie J. Oxenham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley
Oxenham c.1910
Born	Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley (1880-11-25)25 November 1880 Southport, Lancashire
Died	9 January 1960(1960-01-09) (aged 79) Worthing, Sussex
Pen name	Elsie J. Oxenham
Occupation	Children's novelist
Nationality	British
Period	1907-1959
Genre	Books for Girls and Young Women
Literary movement	The Big Three

Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley (born November 25, 1880 – died January 9, 1960) was an English writer. She wrote many stories for girls. When her first book, Goblin Island, came out in 1907, she started using the pen name Elsie J. Oxenham.

Her most famous books are the 38 titles in her Abbey Series. These books are still loved by many readers. During her lifetime, she published 87 books. After she passed away, her niece found two more stories. These were published in the early 1990s. Elsie J. Oxenham is seen as a very important writer for girls in the first half of the 1900s. She was one of the 'Big Three' writers, along with Elinor Brent-Dyer and Dorita Fairlie Bruce. While Angela Brazil is also well-known, she did not write long series about the same characters or places.

Many people collect Oxenham's books. There are special fan clubs, called Appreciation Societies, in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Over 600 members belong to these groups. Some members even live in places like the US, Canada, India, and the Netherlands.

Elsie Oxenham's Life Story

Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley was born in Southport, Lancashire, England. This was in November 1880. Her father was English, and her mother was Scottish.

Before Elsie turned two, her family moved to Ealing, West London. They lived there for almost 40 years. Elsie and her sisters went to private schools. They also attended the Ealing Congregational Church. There were six Dunkerley children: Elsie, Marjory (Maida), Roderic, Theodora (Theo), Erica, and Hugo. The family lived in five different houses in Ealing. In 1922, they moved to Worthing, Sussex. Elsie started using "Oxenham" as her writing name in 1907. This was when her book Goblin Island was published. Her father, William Arthur Dunkerley, had used the pen name "John Oxenham" for many years before this.

While living in London, Elsie Oxenham joined the British Camp Fire Girls movement. She became a Guardian, which is a leader for a group of Camp Fire Girls. She led this group for about six years. This was until she moved to Sussex. One of the Camp Fire members was Margaret Bayne Todd. She later became Margaret, Lady Simey. Margaret appears in the book Abbey Girls in Town. This book was even dedicated to her. People believe that Margaret was the real person who inspired the characters Jenny-Wren and Littlejan.

At some point in London, Oxenham also joined the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS). She later realized she had been doing the dances wrong! She had even been teaching them incorrectly. She wrote about this in The Abbey Girls Go Back to School (published 1922). Many things the "Writing Person" (her character in the books) told Maidlin, Jen, and Joy in The New Abbey Girls (published 1923) were true. These included details about dancing, Grey Edward, and the Camp Fire.

After her family moved to Worthing, Oxenham taught folk dancing. She taught in nearby villages and schools. She tried to start another Camp Fire group. But it did not work out. Most girls her age were already Girl Guides.

At first, the whole family lived together in Worthing. But after their mother died, the four sisters moved out. Elsie lived with Maida, and Erica lived with Theo. None of the sisters ever married. Both of their brothers did marry. Elsie died in a local nursing home in January 1960. This was just a few days after her sister Erica passed away.

Elsie Oxenham's Books and Series

The Famous Abbey Series

Elsie Oxenham is best known for her Abbey Series. This series has 38 books. They follow the main characters from their teenage years until their own daughters are teenagers. The Hamlet Club was started in the first book, Girls of the Hamlet Club. Its goal was to stop snobbery at school. The club enjoyed folk-dancing and walks. Its motto was 'To be or not to be'. Its badge was the Whiteleaf Cross.

These symbols had deeper meanings. The motto came from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. It meant making the right choice, often putting duty before what you wanted. Throughout the Abbey Series, characters face this choice. They learn and grow by making difficult decisions. The badge, the Whiteleaf Cross, was a symbol of sacrifice.

The Abbey itself is almost like a character in the series. It is based on Cleeve Abbey in Somerset. It first appears as a beautiful old ruin in the second book, The Abbey Girls. By the end of this book, cousins Joan and Joy Shirley live at Abinger Hall. The Abbey is in its gardens. Joy inherits the Hall. Joan, who is not related to the owner, gets the Abbey. She gets it "Because of [her] love for it." The Abbey and its spirit are important throughout the series. Characters try to live by the rules of the early Cistercian monks who lived there. Even when they are far away, the Abbey's ideas help them make good choices.

Oxenham sometimes wrote about herself in the Abbey books. As "The Writing Person," she showed herself in the early 1920s. She was over 40 and taking folk dance classes in London. Later, Mary-Dorothy Devine, a character first seen in The Abbey Girls Again, becomes a writer. What she says about writing is likely what Oxenham herself believed. She talks about "finding" books and "listening in to [her own] private wireless." Years later, Mary-Dorothy tells Rachel Ellerton, a younger writer, to try writing for children:

...my books are for girls, not for grown-ups, but I've felt it worth while to write them ... I’ve never dared to think I could help grown-ups; I doubt if I could even amuse or interest them. But it has seemed worth while to try to influence girls and children for good, by amusing them and catching their interest. Girls are the grown-ups of the future. They may keep something of what is put into them while they are fresh and receptive. I've believed it was more worth while to write for them than to try to write novels.

This quote shows why Oxenham wrote her books. It is one of the few times she explained her reasons for writing. In her very first book, Goblin Island (1907), the narrator, Jean, says:

Being an author’s daughter, of course I tried to write stories too. I knew all about father's books and helped with many of them, and I always longed to write a book of my own. When I met the Colquhouns I was writing a novel, but it was a secret even from father, for I was very shy about it. But before long my interest in the children ... grew so strong that I left the novel alone. I watched the story of Peggy Colquhoun and Somebody Else to the very end, and it seemed to me that instead of trying to write a novel I might make a story out of the things I had seen really happening.

This suggests Oxenham started writing in a similar way. We know she typed her father's writings. Her sister Erica Dunkerley later took over this job. Erica also used the pen name Oxenham for her own books.

Themes and Influences in Her Books

Religious Beliefs

Elsie Oxenham grew up in the Congregational Church. This background gave her writing a Protestant feel. Many of her characters face tough times. Their religious beliefs help them get through. Several books from the 1920s and 1930s include talks between characters. They discuss the meaning of life and why things happen. These deep talks appear less often in later books. But even in 1948, in A Fiddler for the Abbey, Mary-Dorothy Devine talks about good and bad events.

Folk Dancing in Her Stories

Folk dancing is a big part of many of Oxenham's books. In early books like Girls of the Hamlet Club (1914), it seemed easy. Girls could do and teach the dances themselves. But by The Abbey Girls Go Back to School (1922), Oxenham had learned more. She realized the dances were not so simple. She had joined the English Folk Dance Society.

Books written after this, until about 1928, show EFDS members with respect. It seems something later changed this relationship. After 1930, these characters do not appear as much. They are not talked about in such glowing terms. The EFDS appears briefly in An Abbey Champion (1946). But the people are no longer named. It might have been because she moved to Worthing. This made it hard to stay close friends from 60 miles away. Some people think the real-life "Madam" and "The Pixie" might not have liked how they were shown. Oxenham always loved folk dancing itself. She always showed it as a healthy exercise. It was also a way to feel better when sad.

The Camp Fire Movement

Camp Fire is important in several of Oxenham’s books. These were published between 1917 and 1940. Oxenham was a Camp Fire Guardian when she lived in Ealing. But her attempt to start a group in Sussex failed. The Camp Fire ideals were Work, Health, and Love—called 'Wohelo'. It also trained young girls in household tasks and cooking. These ideas were central to Oxenham's own beliefs. They are part of many book plots.

From Camp Fire being a part of a school in A School Camp Fire (1917) to Maidlin becoming a Torchbearer in Maidlin Bears the Torch (1937), Camp Fire always helps characters grow. As Oxenham became less involved with Camp Fire, she learned more about the Girl Guides. Her books then showed the differences between the two groups. Later, Guides were mentioned more often than Camp Fire in her stories.

Elsie Oxenham's Lasting Impact

Her Place in Children's Books

Elsie J. Oxenham is seen as one of the 'Big Three' writers. This is among collectors of British Girls' Fiction. The other two are Elinor Brent-Dyer and Dorita Fairlie Bruce. While Angela Brazil is very famous, she did not write long series like the other three. Because of this, Brazil's books are less popular with collectors.

Oxenham did not write the most books among these three. She published 87 titles in her lifetime. Two more were published later by her niece. Brent-Dyer, for example, published 100 books. Almost 40 of Oxenham's books are in the main Abbey Series. About 30 more are in other connected series. The last 20 books are not connected to the Abbey books at all. Some are in small series, and some are single titles. From the 1920s to the 1950s, she also had short stories published. Some longer stories were printed in parts in magazines. These appeared in Annuals like the Girl's Own Annual. Some of these stories were about characters from her books. Others later became full books.

Books Being Reprinted

Collins reprinted most of the Oxenham books they had published. This included the main titles in the Abbey Series. Her other publishers did not reprint her books as often. This is why non-Collins books are usually harder to find. They are also more expensive for collectors.

Several books have been reprinted more recently. This is thanks to Girls Gone By Publishers. They plan to republish all the main Abbey titles. Elsie Oxenham's first book was Goblin Island, published in 1907. This book was reprinted in October 2007 by GGBP for its 100th birthday. It included all known pictures and a new introduction.

Goblin Island was the first in a group of six books called the Scottish Sequence. Four of these books are mostly set in Scotland. Goblin Island is set on 'Loch Avie', which is like Loch Lomond. Princess in Tatters is on 'Loch Ruel', possibly Loch Fyne. A Holiday Queen is at 'Morven' on what seems to be Loch Long. Schoolgirls and Scouts is at 'Glenleny', also on Loch Long. Of the other two, Twins of Castle Charming is mostly set in Switzerland. This is perhaps Oxenham's rarest book. Finding Her Family starts in Ealing and mostly takes place in Saltburn.

Since 2012, the EJO Society has been reprinting books. They have permission from Oxenham's niece. They have already published many titles. These include Girls of the Hamlet Club and Fiddler for the Abbey. A School Camp Fire and Rachel in the Abbey are planned for 2018.

Fan Clubs and Societies

Elsie Jeanette Oxenham Appreciation Society (UK)

The UK EJO Society started in 1989. It was a way for people who loved Elsie J. Oxenham's books to connect. Its magazine, The Abbey Chronicle, comes out three times a year. It has articles about the author, her books, and the real places used in the stories. It also shares reports from member meetings.

One fun thing for collectors is finding the real places Oxenham used in her books. She used areas in Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire for Girls of the Hamlet Club. The village of Washford, Somerset, is where Cleeve Abbey is. Oxenham also used parts of Sussex, Wales, Lancashire, the English Lake District, and Scotland. The UK Society holds a meeting every two years at Halsway Manor. This meeting includes folk-dancing and tours of Cleeve Abbey. Oxenham did not always show places exactly as they were. She was writing fiction. She could move an abbey hundreds of miles if she wanted!

Abbey Girls of Australia

The Australian society, The Abbey Girls of Australia, started in 1985. Its motto is 'Bound in Friendship'. It publishes a magazine called The Abbey Guardian. There are official groups in several Australian states. They hold regular meetings. Weekend 'Camps' are held every two or three years. These bring people together from further away. They often have May Queen coronations. But book discussions and chats are more common at smaller meetings.

New Zealand Society

New Zealand's Society started around the same time as the British one. Its magazine is called The Abbey Gatehouse. The motto is 'Gate Open Be'—a quote from the Abbey books. There is no website for the New Zealand Society right now.

Societies Around the World

In South Africa and North America, groups meet regularly. But they do not make their own magazines. Members of these groups usually get magazines from the UK, Australia, or New Zealand. They also share magazines from other author societies.

A Special Seat at Cleeve Abbey

In 1995, the EJO Societies around the world raised money. They bought a seat for Cleeve Abbey. This was to honor Elsie Oxenham. Her visits to the Abbey inspired her famous Abbey books. She also collected many photos of the site. In summer, the seat is usually placed against the outer wall of the west range. It looks out over the gatehouse meadow.

The plaque on the seat says:

• Mary Cadogan, 'Dunkerley, Elsie Jeanette (1880–1960)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [1], accessed 24 Feb 2007 (needs log-in)