Penny's poetry pages Wiki
in: Articles using Wikipedia text, Articles with authority control information, Imported, created, or updated in 2017,
and 14 more

May C.G. Byron

Edit
May Byron
Nationality British
Relative(s) Alice E. Gillington (sister)

Mary "May" Clarissa Gillington Byron (1861 - November 5, 1936) was an English poet and miscellaneous writer. She published under the names May Byron, M.C. Gillington and Maurice Clare. Byron specialised in writing biographies of great artists, before going on to rewrite some of J.M. Barrie's works for younger readers and to write cookbooks.

Life[]

File:Brookwood hospital 1900.jpg

The Brookwood asylum, where Byron's father was chaplain

She was born Mary Clarissa Gillington at Audlem, Cheshire, the first of 4 children of Sarah (Dumville) and John Maurice Gillington. She was soon joined by a younger sister, Alice Elizabeth, and 2 younger brothers, George William and John Louis. Her Dublin-born father was an aspiring clergyman,[1] then working as a clerk, whilst her mother born in Huyton, Lancashire.

The family moved to Bisley, Surrey, where her father found work as a chaplain at the Brookwood Hospital]], the local asylum.[2]

In 1892, Mary ("May") and her sister published a book of poems, dedicated to their parents. It included some poems that they had published previously in other books.[3]

On 27 August 1892, Gillington married George Frederick Byron, son of Henry James Byron, and went on to have 2 children with him, James George in 1894 and Charles in 1897.[4]

She went on to write a series of biographies, describing the day-to-day lives of various artists. Her series Days with the Great Composers, Days with the Great Authors, Days with the Great Poets and Days with Victorian Poets were published under a number of different pen names: her birth name, M.C. Gillington; her married name, May Byron; and a pen name, Maurice Clare.[5]

May Byron is best known for her authorised abridgements of the Peter Pan novels.[6] Her original abridgement in 1915 was titled "Peter Pan and Wendy", the first to use that form. She also re-wrote the J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan novels "for little readers" or "for the nursery".[7]

Writing[]

May Byron's biographies were generally well-received, though some critics could not tell if they were first-hand or fiction based on research.[8] The books went on to inspire others, and her biography A Day with Shakespeare (written under the pseudonym "Maurice Clare") was particularly influential for James Joyce in writing Ulysses.[5]

Byron's poetry was published in a number of newspapers, with one critic suggesting that her poetry has a "wonderful power". He goes on to say that her poem "At Bay" is "a cry not from the heart of a woman, but from the heart of Woman".[9] The Ballad of London River For Massed School Singing was popular with schools in the London area and became the "official song" for a number of schools.[6]

Her re-tellings of the Peter Pan books were targeted at parents who wished to read to their young children or allow their children their own copies of books. They were written in simple English, with large type and many colourful illustrations.[7]

Publications[]

In total, May Byron wrote over 100 books, in a many different areas.[6] She also had her poems published in newspapers.

Poetry[]

Non-fiction[]

Biographies[]

  • A Day with Lord Byron. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900; New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • A Day with John Keats. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900; New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914.
  • A Day with Franz Schubert. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900.
  • A Day with Tchaikovsky. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900.
  • A Day with Alfred Lord Tennyson. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900.
  • A Day with William Wordsworth. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900.
  • A Day with Robert Browning. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1909.
  • A Day with the Poet Robert Burns. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1909.
  • A Day with Charles Dickens. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • A Day with Sir Walter Scott. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • A Day with the Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • A Day with Robert Louis Stevenson. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • A Day with William Makepeace Thackery. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • A Day with Charlotte Brontë. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Elizabeth Barrett Browning. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Ludwig van Beethoven. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911; New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with Frédéric Chopin. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Ralph Waldo Emerson. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Charles-Francois Gounod. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Peter Ilyick Tchaikovsky. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with Richard Wagner. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with John Greenleaf Whittier. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • A Day with George Eliot. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with William Morris. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with John Milton. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with Nathaniel Hawthorne. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with Walt Whitman. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with Robert Schumann. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • A Day with Thomas Carlyle. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1913.
  • A Day with William Shakespeare. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1913.
  • Days with the English Poets Tennyson, Byron, Browning. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1913.
  • Days with the Victorian Poets Rossetti, Morris, Mrs. Browning. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1913.
  • Days with the Great Novelists: Eliot, Dickens, Thackeray. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [1913?].

Cookbooks[]

  • Pot-Luck; or, The British home-cookery book. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914; New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1915; London: English Universities Press, *May Byron's How-To-Save Cookery: A war-time cookery book. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1915.
  • May Byron's Cake Book: Seven hundred and fifty recipes. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1915.
  • May Byron's Cake Book: Seven hundred and fifty recipes. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1915.
  • May Byron's Vegetable Book: Containing over 800 recipes. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1916
    • May Byron's Vegetable Book; including meatless cookery supplement. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1917.
  • May Byron's Jam Book: A handy guide to the preserving of fruit with or without sugar. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1916.
  • May Byron's Pudding Book: One thousand seventy recipes. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1917.
  • *May Byron's Rations Book: Containing 650 recipes. London & New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1918.
  • Simple Fare for Sick Folk. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1934.
  • Puddings, Pastries, and Sweet Dishes. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1929

Juvenile[]

  • The Bird Book (illustrated by William Foster). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1900.
  • The Teddy Bear Book (illustrated by Rosa C Petherick). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1900.
  • Cat's Cradle: A picture book for little folk (illustrated Louis Wain). London: Blackie & Son, 1908; New York: Dodge, 1908.
  • The Little Small Red Hen (illustrated by William Foster). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1909; Philadelphia: H. Altemus, 1910.
  • Little Robin Hood (illustrated by John Hassall). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1909.
  • The Children's Tennyson: Stories in prose and verse from Alfred Lord Tennyson (illustrated by N.M. Price). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • Teddy Bear's Travels (illustrated by Rosa C Petherick). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
  • The Teddy Bearoplane (illustrated by James R. Sinclair). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1911.
  • Robin's Rambles. London: 1913.
  • Jack and Jill (illustrated by Cecil Aldin). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1914.
  • The Little Wee Bear and Goldenhair (illustrated by Rosa C Petherick). London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, 1917.
  • Jack-a-Dandy: The tale of the vain jackdaw (illustrated by Edward Julius Detmold & Day Hodgetts). London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1921.
  • The Little Black Bear. New York: Doran, 1922.
  • The Little Brown Rooster (illustrated by M.M. Rudge & Gordon Robinson). New York: Doran, 1922.
  • The Little Tan Terrier. New York: Doran, 1922.
  • J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan and Wendy': Retold for little people (illustrated by Mabel Lucie Atwell). London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1925.
  • The Little Yellow Duckling (illustrated by M.M. Rudge). New York: Nelson, 1928.
  • J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens: Retold for little people (illustrated by Arthur Rackham). London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1929.

Edited[]

  • The Garden of Love: Flowers gathered from the poets. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911; New York: Hodder & Stoughton / Doran, 1912.
  • Light in the East: Selections from Persian writers. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912.
  • The Golden Garden of the Poets: Lyrics of love and friendship. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[10]

References[]

  1. ↑ Gillington, Alice E.; Stedman, Edmund Clarence (1895). A Victorian Anthology, 1837 – 1895. p. 690. 
  2. ↑ Yates, Michael; Roud, Steve (1 January 2006). "Alice E. Gillington: Dweller on the Roughs". EFDSS Folk Music Journal 9 (1): 72–94. ISSN 0531-9684. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-955443961.html. Retrieved 4 May 2012. 
  3. ↑ Gillington, Mary Clarissa (1982). Poems. London: Elliot Stock. https://archive.org/stream/poemsbyron00byro#page/n7/mode/2up. 
  4. ↑ Mosley, Charles, ed (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. 1 (107 ed.). Wilmington, Delaware USA: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 631. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Martin, Timothy (2009). Joyce and Wagner : a study of influence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 230. ISBN 0521119715. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Stewart, Mary (24 September 2009). "Keeper of the Lost Ark". Daily Mail. http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-208340887/keeper-of-the-lost-ark. Retrieved 30 October 2012. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Peter Pan". Evening Post. 11 July 1925. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19250711.2.130.5. Retrieved 30 October 2012. 
  8. ↑ Flynn, Timothy S. (2009). Charles François Gounod : a research and information guide. New York: Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 0415973511. 
  9. ↑ "At Bay". Poverty Bay Herald. 22 February 1913. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19130222.2.90.61.4. Retrieved 30 October 2012. 
  10. ↑ Search results = au:May Gillington, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Feb. 1, 2017.

External links[]

Poems
Books
Audio / video
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia. (view article). (view authors).
Authority control
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.