About the Author

Edith Holden (1871-1920) was born at Kings Norton, Worcester, one of seven children of a Midlands paint manufacturer. The family lived in the small village of Olton in Warwickshire and it was there that she wrote and illustrated the book. After attending art school, she worked as an illustrator, with her drawings being published in several books. She later moved to London, and in 1911 met and married Ernest Smith, a sculptor; they lived in Chelsea, and had no children.