Short Biography

Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley (1880-1960), author of the Abbey Series, was born in Southport, Lancashire, England on 25 November 1880 but before she was 2 years old she was taken to Ealing, West London, where she and her sisters went to private schools and attended Ealing Congregational Church. The six Dunkerley children were: Elsie, Marjory (Maida), Roderic, Theodora (Theo), Erica and Hugo. The family lived in five different houses during their time in Ealing and moved to Worthing, Sussex, in 1922. She took the surname Oxenham as her pen name when Goblin Island was published in 1907. Her father, William Dunkerley, had used the pen-name John Oxenham for many years prior to this. Statistics Population: 91,404[citation needed] Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD333170 Administration District: Sefton Metropolitan county: Merseyside Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Merseyside Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Merseyside Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: North West Post office... Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Ealing is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... Worthing is the largest town and a local government district in West Sussex, England. ... Sussex is a traditional county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... William Arthur Dunkerley (November 12, 1852 - January 23, 1941) was a prolific British journalist, novelist and poet. ...

During the London years, Elsie Oxenham became involved in the British Section of the American Camp Fire movement, and qualifed as a Guardian - the leader of a group of Camp Fire Girls. She ran this Camp Fire Group for some 6 years, until the move to Sussex. One of the Camp Fire members was Margaret Bayne Todd - later Margaret Simey (Lady Simey) - who appears in Abbey Girls in Town and to whom that title was dedicated. It is thought that she was the 'original' on whom both Jenny-Wren and Littlejan were based. Now known as Camp Fire USA, the nationwide youth organization began on March 17, 1910 as Camp Fire Girls. ...

At some point during her time in London Oxenham joined the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS - it didn't become the English Folk Dance and Song Society [EFDSS] until much later). She then discovered how 'badly' she had been doing the dances - and teaching them! - as related in The Abbey Girls Go Back to School (published 1922). Everything that the 'Writing Person' [her on-page persona] told Maidlin, Jen and Joy, in The New Abbey Girls (published 1923), about dancing, Grey Edward, and the Camp Fire had happened as described. Cecil Sharp House in London is home to the English Folk Dance and Song Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society formed by Cecil Sharp in 1911. ...

After the family had moved to Worthing, Oxenham taught folk dancing in nearby villages and schools. She tried to start another Camp Fire but that wasn't a success as most of the girls of the right age were already Girl Guides. It has been suggested that Guides on the Air be merged into this article or section. ...

At first, the family all lived at Farncombe Road, Worthing, but after their mother died the four sisters moved out, living in pairs, Elsie with Maida, and Erica with Theo. None of the sisters married, but both brothers did. Elsie died in a nursing Home in January 1960, a few days after Erica.

Elsie J. Oxenham's Place in Children's Literature

Elsie J. Oxenham is considered as one of the 'Big Three' - the other two being Elinor Brent-Dyer and Dorita Fairlie Bruce - among collectors of British Girls' Fiction. Although Angela Brazil is perhaps the first name to come to mind for non-specialists, in terms of collecting and interest she is less popular than these three. Oxenham had 87 titles published during her lifetime, and a further two were published by her niece, who discovered the manuscripts among Oxenham's papers. Nearly half her books were in the main Abbey Series, with another twenty or so in several connecting series and the rest - some in small series of their own, and some isolated titles - having no connection with the Abbey Books at all. During the 1920s to the 1950s she had several short stories, and some longer serialised ones, published in Annuals such as the British Girl's Annual, Little Folks and Hulton's Girls' Stories. Some of these were connected to the books - i.e. dealt with characters from one of her books or series, others became books, or sections of books, that were published a year or two later. Elinor M. Brent-Dyer 1894-1969 was a children’s author who wrote over 100 books during her lifetime, the most famous being the chalet school series. ... Angela Brazil, (pronounced brazzle), (November 30, 1868 - March 13, 1947), was the first of the British writers of modern School Girls Stories genre - written from the characters point of view. ...

Appreciation Societies

The Elsie Jeanette Oxenham Appreciation Society (UK)

The UK EJO Society was founded in 1989 as a "postal meeting place" for all who collect the books of Elsie J. Oxenham and are interested in her work. Its magazine The Abbey Chronicle is published three times a year and contains articles about the author, her books, the real places used as settings for the books, the originals of characters within the books, and reports of meetings held by members. One of the interests of collectors and EJO Society members is finding and visiting the original sites used by Oxenham in her books. As well as the Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire area which is the background for Girls of the Hamlet Club and the village of Washford, Somerset where Cleeve Abbey is situated, Oxenham used parts of Sussex, Wales, Lancashire, the English Lake District and Scotland for the settings of several books. The UK Society holds a biennial meeting at Cleeve Abbey in the summer, which includes folk-dancing and tours of the Abbey as if it were the fictional one. Naturally these places are not always depicted in the books exactly as the real sites; Oxenham was writing fiction, and given that she could move an abbey several hundred miles for her purposes, changing a few names and telescoping or stretching distances was also well within her remit. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is one of the home counties in South East England. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in south-east England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... The Dormitory at Cleeve Abbey Medieval Tiles at Cleeve Cleeve Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey near the village of Washford, Somerset, England. ... Sussex is a traditional county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779... Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Crinkle Crags as seen from the adjoining fell of Cold Pike. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... The Dormitory at Cleeve Abbey Medieval Tiles at Cleeve Cleeve Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey near the village of Washford, Somerset, England. ...

Australia

In Australia there has been a society since 1985, The Abbey Girls of Australia which has a magazine, The Abbey Guardian. It has official branches in several states of Australia. They hold regular meetings, and arrange weekend 'Camps' every two or three years where they can meet people form further afield. They also hold May Queen coronations and their motto is 'Bound in Friendship'. May Queen is a term which has two distinct but related meanings. ...

New Zealand

New Zealand's Society was founded at about the same time as the British one, and its magazine is called The Abbey Gatehouse. At the moment there is no web page available for the New Zealand Society.

Rest of the World

South Africa and North America both have groups who meet regularly, but they do not produce their own magazines. Members of the groups receive the magazines which do exist, normally each subscribing to one of the three, as well as magazines for other author interest societies, as a means of sharing them among the rest of the group. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

The EJO Seat at Cleeve Abbey

In 1995 the EJO Societies worldwide held a collection to provide a seat at Cleeve Abbey as a recognition of the inspiration that the author received by her visits to the Abbey, and her collection of photographs of the site. In summer it is usually placed against the outer wall of the west range to overlook the gatehouse meadow. The Dormitory at Cleeve Abbey Medieval Tiles at Cleeve Cleeve Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey near the village of Washford, Somerset, England. ...

The plaque on the seat reads:

References

Books:

• Godfrey, Monica (2003). The World of Elsie Jeanette Oxenham and her Books. Girls Gone By Publishers [1]. ISBN 1904417159.
• Thompson, Allison (1998). Lighting the Fire: Elsie J. Oxenham, The Abbey Girls, and the English Folk Dance Revival. Squirrel Hill Press [2]. ISBN 096665630X.
• Waring, Stella, & Ray, Sheila (2006). Island to Abbey; Survival and Sanctuary in the books of Elsie J. Oxenham 1907 to 1959. Girls Gone By Publishers [3]. ISBN 1904417809.

Web:

• The Elsie J. Oxenham Society
• The Abbey Girls of Australia
• The Abbey Girls of South Australia
• Camp Fire