# E. E. Cowper

Edith Elise Cadogan Cowper (21 July 1859 – 18 November 1933) was a prolific and popular author of adventure stories for girls. She married yachtsman and fellow writer Frank Cowper and had eight children by him before the marriage fell apart.

## Early life

Cowper was born on 21 July 1859 at Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Her parents were the Reverend Edward Cadogan (1833 – 16 April 1890) and stockbroker's daughter Alice Smith (25 January 1833 – 24 March 1913). Cowper was the second of the couple's ten children. By the 1861 census her father was the Rector at Walton, Warwickshire, England, but moved to take up the Rectorship at Wickham in 1873, where he was to remain until his death in 1890.
Cowper married Frank Cooper (14 January 1849 – 28 May 1930) at her father's church in Wicken, Northamptonshire, England on 28 December 1877. She was seventeen at the time, and her husband was ten years older. He was a yachtsman, famous for single-handed cruising, and author, both of novels and of books on sailing. The couple had eight children, four boys and four girls: Frank Cadogan Cowper, Edith Alice Magdalen Cowper, Earnest Lionel Cadogen Cowper, Gerald Audrey Cadogan Cooper, Gladys Blanche Katherine Cowper, Gwenllyan Sybilla Mary Cowper, Henry Evelyn Cadogan Cowper, and Nesta Evelyn Dorothea Cowper. The first five children were registered as Cooper and had their names changed to Cowper when their father changed his name. The youngest three, being born after the name change in 1885, were registered with the surname Cowper.
Some sources suggest that Cowper had ten children, with two of them, Lois and Edward, dying in infancy, in addition to Henry. However, there is no record of such births in the birth index of the Government Record Office, and Cowpers's own account of the number of children she has had in the 1911 census, with eight children born and six surviving, suggests that there were no such births.
The couple lived first in Hordle, Hampshire, where they ran a small preparatory school. Later, they built Lisle Court at Wootton in the Isle of Wight, which also served as a school.$^{:155}$ The 1891 census shows Cowper living at Lisle Court with six of her children, Gerald, age 9 at the time is absent for some reason. The census shows that the house was no longer working as a school.
The marriage was not a happy one. The summary of Frank Cadogan Cowper's letters to his mother in the Royal Academy Collections states that Cowper divorced her on the grounds of violence and infidelity, but Sims and Clare says that while the marriage broke up, they may never have divorced.$^{:155}$ Cowper still describes herself as married in the 1911 census.
By 1901, Cowper was living in Acton in London with her four daughters, aged 12 to 21 and with her profession listed as authoress. The 1911 census found Cowper living with her daughter Nesta at Flat 7, Fairlawn Court, Acton Lane, Chiswick, London. Her other three daughters had already married, and Nesta would do so in 1914.
Cowper was living at Milford on Sea, Hampshire when she died on 18 November 1933. Her estate was valued at £977 6s.7d.

## Writing

The Evening Post (New Zealand) says that Cowper published her first, book, set in the New Forest before she was 20. However, the first book recorded in the Jisc Library Hub Discover database Additional libraries are being added all the time, and the catalogue collates national, university, and research libraries. is Hide and Seek, published in 1881. She followed this with Hasselaers in 1883. It is note clear who published the first book, but the second was published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK). The SPCK published all but three of her books until 1915, after which she began to use other publishers. She first published with Blackie & Son in 1917, and Blackie would publish nearly half of her output from then on.
Cowper wrote adventures stories for teenage girls. Many of the feature sailing. The wilds of Canada, where one of her sons had settled before the First World War, feature in many of here stories, whether searching for gold, or trapping. Smuggling is another repeated trope, even featuring in her school story Fifth Form Adventurers.

## Assessment

Cowper was writing for what Alice Corkran called the Modern Girl in her Chat with the Girl of the Period in The Girl's Realm.
Kate Flint said that while researching for the Woman Reader, she was hardly surprised to find how many girls in the nineteenth century openly preferred their brothers' books, with the active role models that they offered. Cowper offered here girl readers active role models. The Yorkshire Post when speaking of Cowper and similar girls' authors, said that Girls need no longer impound their brothers’ books for such stories fortunately they can now see themselves as the protagonists in these romances. and that Cowper can always be relied on for action.

## Works

The following bibliography is based on a search on the Jisc Library Hub Discover database for books authored by Cowper. In all, there are 69 books listed in the table, as two of the items are derivatives. Cowper contributed to a number of anthologies and annuals but these are not included here, nor in any reissues of her work. She also wrote some short fiction for magazines, but again, there are not listed here.
Books by Cowper :
| Ser | Year | Title | Illustrator | Place | Publisher | Pages |
| 1 | 1881 | Hide and seek | | London | | 8º |
| 2 | 1883 | The Hasselaers | | London | SPCK | 156 p., 4 p., 3. ill., 8º |
| 3 | 1899 | The Misadventures of I.M.P. A story for little girls | | London | SPCK | 80 p., 8º |
| 4 | 1899 | Theckla Jansen. The story of a lonely girl | | London | SPCK | 80 p., 8º |
| 5 | 1900 | Bessie | Walter Sidney Stacey | London | SPCK | 224 p., 8º |
| 6 | 1900 | Red, White, and Blue; or Dick's enemy | | London | SPCK | 94 p., 8º |
| 7 | 1901 | The brown bird and her owners, a story of adventure off the South Coast | Walter Sidney Stacey | London | SPCK | 256 p., 8º |
| 8 | 1903 | Calder Creek, a story of smuggling on the South Coast | Walter Sidney Stacey | London | SPCK | 246 p., ill., 8º |
| 9 | 1904 | 'Viva Christina!' The adventures of a young Scot with the British legion | W. H. C. Groome | London | Chambers | 292 p., 6 ill., 8º |
| 10 | 1904 | The Witches of Westover Combe, a story of the South Coast, etc. | Harold Piffard | London | SPCK | 221 p., 8º |
| 11 | 1905 | The Haunted Mill on Birley River: the story of a South Coast creek | Harold Piffard | London | SPCK | 254 p., 8º |
| 12 | 1906 | The disappearance of David Pendarve | Harold Piffard | London | SPCK | 254 p., ill., 8º |
| 13 | 1907 | The invaders of Fairford | Adolf Thiede | London | SPCK | 253 p., col. fs., 8º |
| 14 | 1908 | The House with Dragon Gates, a story of old Chiswick in 1745 | Harold Piffard | London | SPCK | 245 p., 8º |
| 15 | 1909 | Lady Fabia, a story of adventure on the South Coast in 1805, etc. | Adolf Thiede | London | SPCK | 221 p., 8º |
| 16 | 1910 | Andrew Garnett's Will, etc. | Thomas Heath Robinson | London | SPCK | 223 p., 8º |
| 17 | 1910 | The moonrakers, a story of smugglers in the New Forest in 1747 | Walter Sidney Stacey | London | SPCK | 256 p., 2 ill., 8º |
| 18 | 1910 | Three girls on a yacht | Edward Smith Hodgson | London | Cassell | vi, 343 p., 8 ill., 8º |
| 19 | 1911 | The Captain of the Waterguard | Adolf Thiede | London | SPCK | 252 p., 8º |
| 20 | 1911 | The island of rushes: the strange story of a holiday mystery | Walter Sidney Stacey | London | SPCK | 251 p., 8º |
| 21 | 1913 | Enter Patricia, being an account of her strange adventures on a visit to the Cornish coast | Noël Harrold | London | Cassell | 304 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 22 | 1913 | Leo Lousada, Gentleman Adventurer | Adolf Thiede | London | SPCK | 256 p., 8º |
| 23 | 1913 | The Strange Story of Kittiwake's Castle | Gordon Browne | London | SPCK | 120 p., 8º |
| 24 | 1913 | Two Girls and a Secret | Walter Sidney Stacey | London | SPCK | 254 p., 4 pl., 8º |
| 25 | 1914 | The crew of the "Silver Fish" | Walter Paget | London | SPCK | VI, 223p, 8º |
| 26 | 1915 | The King's Double, etc. | Archibald Webb | London | SPCK | 254 p., 8º |
| 27 | 1915 | The Mystery of Castle Veor; or, the Spies in our midst | Archibald Webb | London | SPCK | vi, 222 p., 3 ill. (1 col.), 8º |
| 28 | 1915 | The strange girl from the sea | Noël Harrold | London | Cassell | vii, 312 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 29 | 1916 | Three Sailor Girls | N. Tenison | London | Henry Frowde | 288 p., 4pl., 8º |
| 30 | 1916 | The valley of dreams | Norah Schlegel | London | Cassell | 279 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 31 | 1917 | Hill of Broom. A Guernsey mystery | Elizabeth Earnshaw | London | Cassell | 312 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 32 | 1917 | Jane in Command. The story of a girl's war work and its strange results | Gordon Browne | London | Blackie & Son | 284 p., 8º |
| 33 | 1919 | The black dog's rider | John W. Campbell | London | SPCK | v, 322 p., 8º |
| 34 | 1919 | Maids of the “Mermaid.” A story of adventure on the coast of England | C. Dudley Tennant | London | Blackie & Son | 288 p., 8º |
| 35 | 1920 | Corporal Ida's floating camp | C. E. Brock | London | SPCK | 123 p., 8º |
| 36 | 1920 | Pam and the Countess | Gordon Browne | London | Blackie & Son | 287 p., 6 ill., 8º |
| 37 | 1921 | Celia wins | Rosa Petherick | London | Collins | 320 p., 8º |
| 38 | 1921 | The mystery of Saffron Manor | Gordon Browne | London | Blackie & Son | 284 p., 6 ill., 8º |
| 39 | 1921 | Wild Rose to the Rescue | C. E. Brock | London | SPCK | 154 p. 6 pl, 8º |
| 40 | 1922 | The Brushwood Hut | Gordon Browne | London | Blackie & Son | 207 p., 8º |
| 41 | 1922 | The island of secrets | Gordon Browne | London | Blackie & Son | 207 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 42 | 1922 | Two on the Trail. A story of Canada snows, etc. | Walter Paget | London | Sheldon Press | 160 p., 8º |
| 43 | 1923 | Ann's Great Adventure | John Dewar Mills | London | Blackie & Son | 320 p., 8º |
| 44 | 1924 | Girls on the Gold Trail. A story of strange adventures in the northlands | | London | Nelson | 327 p., 8º |
| 45 | 1924 | The mystery term | R. H. Brock | London | Blackie & Son | 255 p., 6 ill., 8º |
| 46 | 1924 | White Wings to the Rescue | C. R. Fleming-Williams | London | Blackie & Son | 320 p., 8º |
| 47 | 1925 | The girl from the North-West | Henry Coller | London | Blackie & Son | 319 p., 6 ill., 8º |
| 48 | 1925 | Hunted, and the Hunter | Stanley L. Wood | London | Sheldon Press | iii, 122 p., fs., 8º |
| 49 | 1925 | Witch of the wilds, a story of adventure in the northern snows | | London | Nelson | 312 p., fs., 8º |
| 50 | 1926 | The Haunted Trail | Henry Coller | London | Blackie & Son | 224 p., 8º |
| 51 | 1926 | That Troublesome Term | Elizabeth Earnshaw | London | Cassell | 215 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 52 | 1927 | Cross Winds Farm; or, the Adventure of the silver foxes | | London | Chambers | 154 p., 8º |
| 53 | 1927 | Hit the Trail. A wild west story | Archibald Stevenson Forrest | London | Nelson | 335 p., 8º |
| 54 | 1927 | The Holiday School | Norman Sutcliffe | London | Cassell | 215 p., 4 ill. (2 col.), 8º |
| 55 | 1927 | Nancy's Fox Farm | Norman Sutcliffe | London | Blackie & Son | 256 p., 8º |
| 56 | 1928 | Camilla's Castle | Roger Oak | London | Blackie & Son | 255 p., 8º |
| 57 | 1928 | Peterina on the rescue trail | R. H. Brock | London | Nelson | 320 p., 1 col. ill., 8° |
| 58 | 1929 | The fifth form adventurers | | London | Cassell | 215 p., ill., 8º |
| 59 | 1929 | The Forbidden Island | Francis Ernest Hiley | London | Blackie & Son | 208 p., 8º |
| 60 | 1929 | Gill and the Beanstalk | | London | Blackie & Son | 191 p., 8º |
| 61 | 1929 | That Joyous Adventure | | London | Nelson | 95 p., 8º |
| 62 | 1929 | The Wolf Runner | William Bryce Hamilton | London | Nelson | 318 p., 8º |
| 63 | 1930 | The Crow's Nest, etc. | | London | Sheldon Press | 153 p., 8º |
| 64 | 1930 | The Invincible Fifth | Percy Bell Hickling | London | Cassell | 215 p., 4 ill., 8º |
| 65 | 1930 | Rosamond takes the Lead | Hugh Radcliffe-Wilson | London | Blackie & Son | 223 p., 8º |
| 66 | 1931 | Girls on the Trap-Line | A. Leo Knopf | London | Nelson | 292 p., 8º |
| 67 | 1932 | The Lodge in the Wood, etc. | | London | Sheldon Press | 125 p., 8º |
| 68 | 1933 | Elsie and the Grey Thief | | London | Blackie & Son | 64 p., 8º |
| 69 | 1933 | The Girls of Mystery Gorge | R. H. Brock | London | Nelson | 295 p., 8º |