mammybearsbooks Blog Alison_Uttley-Little_Grey_Rabbit 20200711

Mammy Bears Books 11 July · Today I thought I would feature the work of Author - Alison Uttley (1884-1976), a prolific writer with over 100 titles to her credit. Alison Uttley was obviously a very bright young Victorian lady who in 1906 became the second woman honours graduate for Physics at Manchester University. Her love for science developed from an education at the Lea School in Holloway and also Bakewell at the Lady Manners School. In 1911 she married James Arthur Uttley, and in 1914 had her only child, John Taylor. Sadly, her husband was prone to depression and drowned himself in 1930. An bit of "gossip" I discovered in researching this wonderful author was that in 1938 she moved to Beaconsfield, where another famous English author - Enid Blyton - was a neighbour. Apparently, she came to dislike Blyton, describing her as a boastful and vulgar woman - oh dear - a clash of talents, perhaps! Uttley's writing covered many genres from novels, essays, short story collections to anthologies and memoirs. Her children's books were many - 'Sam Pig' books, 'Little Brown Mouse' books, 'Tim Rabbit' books and 'Little Red Fox' books, however probably her most remembered work in this genre is the 'Little Grey Rabbit' books, which were illustrated, for the most part, by Margaret Tempest. Oddly, one of her most popular works is 'A Traveller in Time', a pioneering time-slip novel written in 1939. This romance mixes fantasy and historical fact where a girl from the 20th century is transported to the 16th century, becoming involved in a plot to free Mary, Queen of Scots from captivity. I have a very good 1952 edition of this book - check it out at www.mammybearsbooks.com it's a great read !