George Edward Farrow (17 March 1862[1] – 1919[2][3]) born inIpswich inEngland, was a notedBritish children's book author of whose life little is known.[4][5]
The son of George Farrow, acement manufacturer inIpswich, and his wife Emily, G.E. Farrow was educated in London and America. In 1891 he was working as a clerk to the Collector ofInland Revenue and was living at No 190 Dalston Lane inHackney. In 1901 he was living at No 83 Sterndale Road inHammersmith. By this time his occupation is listed as author.[6] On both these dates his mother was living with him.[7] He also lived for a time inBrook Green,West Kensington.
During his literary career Farrow wrote more than 30 books for children. He encouraged his readers to write to him, answered their letters, and let their tastes and opinions guide his future works (rather like his American contemporaryL. Frank Baum). Though he wrote adventure tales and poetry, Farrow was best known for nonsense books written in the tradition ofLewis Carroll'sAlice's Adventures in Wonderland, especially hisWallypug series, including:
He wrote 34 volumes in all, his last beingThe Mysterious Shin Shira (1915).[1]
Surprisingly for a popular and prolific author, little is known of Farrow's life. A few sparse facts can be gleaned from prefaces to his books: that he owned an armchair called Pendennis, had a dog called Gip, and was known to his friends as "Gef".[8] It can be inferred, perhaps, from the prefaces, in which he repeatedly begged for readers' letters, that he was lonely and childless. The frequency with which he changed publishers points to dissatisfaction with the terms they offered. Until recently, even the year of his birth was not known for certain,[note 1] it having been estimated at 1866, partly based on a reference in the Preface to an 1898 book:
Whatdid become of Farrow is also obscure. AuthorNoel Streatfeild has speculated:
Farrow's other books includeThe Missing Prince (1896) andThe Little Panjandrum's Dodo (1899).
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