Agnes Littlejohn | |
---|---|
Born | Paddington, New South Wales, Australia | 25 September 1865
Died | 27 December 1944 Epping, New South Wales, Australia | (aged 79)
Occupation | Poet, short story writer, children's author |
Agnes Littlejohn (25 September 1865 – 27 December 1944) was an Australian writer.
Agnes Littlejohn was born in Paddington, New South Wales on 25 September 1865.[1] Her Scottish father, Thomas Littlejohn (d.1906) and his wife Ann Austin Littlejohn (née Orsmond in Tahiti) had migrated to Australia in 1864.[2]
Littlejohn had paintings in the Australian Academy of Arts Exhibition in 1892.[3]
Her first collection of short stories was published in 1907, the year following her father's death, and was reviewed favourably by The Sydney Morning Herald.[4] It contained both new stories and others which had previously been published in the Presbyterian.[5] From November 1907 her stories appeared in the "Young Folks" and "Australian Stories" columns of The Sydney Mail.[6][7]
Following the outbreak of World War I, Littlejohn began writing patriotic poetry which was published in The Sydney Mail.[8][9][10] It was collected and re-published in a series of volumes during the war years. She also donated earnings from her writing to patriotic funds.[11][12]
Her first book of fairy stories for children, Star Dust and Sea Spray, appeared in 1918 and was illustrated by Sydney Ure Smith and Percy Leason,[13] while Pixie O'Harris illustrated her 1924 book, The Lost Emerald and other Stories.[14]
She also wrote the lyrics for the song, "To a Butterfly", composed by Raimund Pechotsch in 1925.[15] It was dedicated to and sung by Elsa Stralia.[16]
In 1931 she began to write poetry for The Sydney Morning Herald.[17]
Littlejohn died on 27 December 1944 at a private hospital in Epping, New South Wales.[19] She never married.[20]