Underdown, Emily (1863-1947)

Title

Underdown, Emily

Author

Underdown, Emily (1863-1947)

Pseudonym

Chester Norley

Date

1863-1947

Place of origin

Higher Broughton

London

Emily Underdown, census, 1871.

Emily Underdown, census, 1891.

Emily Underdown, census, 1901

Emily Underdown, census, 1911.

Country of origin

England, United Kingdom

Language

English

Profession

Short story writer

Playwright

Periodical contributor

Biographical details

Emily Underdown was born on 28 July 1863 at Higher Broughton, Lancashire, England. Her parents were Lieutenant-Colonel Robert George Underdown and Lydia Underdown (née Dacombe). She was the second of four children. Not much is known about her early life other than her graduation from University College London in 1898 (UCL Record Office).

She lived in Lancashire and Yorkshire during her early life, moving to London at some point after 1901. She did not marry. She died in London on 5 September 1947. Her brother, Herbert William Underdown was a solicitor and a well-known art collector and antiquarian scholar. In 1949, her Dante collection was bequeated to the London Library.

She was a children writer of original stories as well as classics adaptations issued mainly with the Scottish publisher, Thomas Nelson.

Throughout her life, she wrote under the pseudonym Norley Chester, which name appears to have been taken from the village of Norley, Cheshire, near the town of Chester. With this pseudonym she wrote articles for the Gentleman's Magazine.
She was populariser of Dante through short stories, children and theatrical adaptations.

She is also remembered as a ""war poet"" of the First World War for her work ""The Gifts of War"".

Selected publications

(1892). Olga's Dream. A nineteenth century fairy tale ... With original illustrations ... by Harry Furniss and Irving Montagu. London. Skeffington & Son.

(1894). The Carved Box: a story from Switzerland, London, Glasgow and Dublin. Blackie & Son Ltd.

(1895). Dante Vignettes. London. Elliot Stock

Dante Vignettes

(1898). Stories from Dante. London-New York. F. Warne & Co.

Stories from Dante

(1903). Cristina. A romance of Italy in olden days. London : Swan Sonnenschein & Co.

(1900). A Plain Woman's Part. London. Edward Arnold

(1903). Dante and Beatrice: a play [in verse] founded on incidents in Dante's Vita Nuova.

Dante and Beatrice: a play founded on incidents in Dante's Vita nuova

(1906). Medallions from early Florentine history. London : Swan Sonnenschein and Co.

Medallions from Early Florentine History

(1909). The Gateway to Romance. Tales retold by Emily Underdown from “The Earthly Paradise” of William Morris. London. Thomas Nelson & Sons.

(1910). The Adventures of Don Quixote. Abridged and adapted for children by Emily Underdown. London. T. Nelson & Sons.

(1913) Stories from Chaucer. Retold by Emily Underdown. [Selected from “The Gateway to Chaucer.”]. London. T. Nelson & Sons.

(1925). Three Northern Romances. Siegfried-Lohengrin-Undine. Old tales retold by N. Chester and Richard Wilson. London. T. Nelson & Sons.

Articles in periodicals

(1899). "Early Tuscan Poets"", in Sylvanus Urban (ed.), Gentleman's Magazine, London: Chatto & Windus, (pp. 329–339).

"Early Tuscan Poets"

(1900). "How I didn’t become an Author"". An essay in the Temple Bar Journal; reproduced in “The Living Age”, 7th series, Vol. VIII, July, August and September 1900.

(1900). "Historical Influences of the 'Divine Comedy'"", in Sylvanus Urban (ed.), Gentleman’s Magazine, Vol. CCLXXXVIII, January to June 1900, London: Chatto & Windus.

"Historical Influences of the 'Divine Comedy'"

Relation

Anglophone women writers