Nancy Bell (author) facts for kids

Nancy Regina Emily Meugens Bell (born September 2, 1844, died August 30, 1933) was a talented British writer and translator. She wrote many books and translated others from different languages. Her family had some Belgian roots.

Nancy's Early Life

Nancy Bell was born to Peter Joseph Meugens and Elizabeth Caroling Bennet. Her father was born in Antwerp, Belgium, but became a British citizen. He worked as a broker or merchant.

Sadly, Nancy's mother died before Nancy was even one year old. Her father quickly remarried Emily Wallis before Nancy turned two.

Becoming a Writer

By 1871, Nancy was living with her father and stepmother in Wandsworth. She had already started working on translations. Her first big work was published in 1873.

By 1881, Nancy was living in Kensington, London. She described herself as an "authoress" (writer) and teacher.

Family Life

In 1882, Nancy married Arthur George Bell, who was a landscape painter. They had three children together:

• Kenneth Normal Bell (born 1884)
• Eric Arthur Bell (born 1885)
• Irene Agnes Bell (born 1887)

The family lived in Southend-on-Sea in 1891. Nancy was listed as an "authoress" and Arthur as an "artist." Later that year, they moved to Southbourne, near Bournemouth.

Arthur Bell designed and built a special house for them called Rasgarth. It was made to have lots of natural light, which was perfect for an artist. In 1903, a local newspaper called it "an ideal painter's home."

The Bells were still in Rasgarth in 1901. But by 1911, they were living in Richmond, Surrey. They still kept their house in Bournemouth. Arthur died suddenly from a heart attack there in 1919. In 1920, Nancy held an exhibition of her husband's paintings at Rasgarth to raise money for people who were blind.

Nancy's Amazing Work

Nancy Bell wrote and translated a huge number of books during her career. She used a special pen name, Nancy D'Anvers, or N. D'Anvers, before she got married. This name meant "Nancy of Antwerp," referring to her family's Belgian background. After she married, she wrote as Mrs Arthur Bell.

Translating Jules Verne

Her first major project was translating a book by the famous French writer Jules Verne. The book was called Les pays des fourrers in French. Nancy finished her translation quickly, and it was published as The Fur Country in November 1873. It came out just in time for Christmas!

This was just the first of three Jules Verne books she translated. She might have also helped with a fourth, Around the World in 80 Days, but we are not sure how much she contributed.

Other Books

Nancy continued to work until about 1920. She translated many books and also wrote her own. Her books covered different topics like religion, travel, and art history. She was a strong Catholic and wrote several books about the lives of saints.

She also wrote some books especially for children. These included titles like Nanny, Pixie, Dobbie, Red Jem, Pierre: A Tale of Normandy, and Hindu Tales.

In 1902, a publisher asked her to write a book about the artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Whistler was not happy about this! Nancy wrote many letters trying to get him to agree to let her use photos of his paintings in the book. The book was finally published in 1904, after Whistler had passed away.

Many of Nancy's books had illustrations by her husband, Arthur. His drawings and lithographs in her books are an important part of his artistic work.

Later Life and Death

Nancy Bell was living near Bristol when she passed away on August 30, 1933. Her son, Kenneth, managed her will. He was a Fellow at Balliol College in Oxford. Nancy was survived by her son Kenneth and her daughter Irene.

Selected Publications

Here are a few examples of the many books Nancy Bell wrote or translated:

• An Elementary History of Art (1874)
• Jules Verne, The Fur Country; or, Seventy degrees North latitude (1874)
• Raphael (1879)
• Lives and Legends of the Evangelists, Apostles, and other early Saints (1901)
• Nuremberg (1905)
• The Royal Manor of Richmond with Petersham, Ham and Kew (1907)
• Hindu Tales from the Sanskrit (1919) (edited)
• Jules Verne, The Blockade Runners