Alice Dalgliesh

Reading and storytelling shaped the writing career of British author Alice Dalgliesh, a career that actually began at the tender age of six. She spent her earliest years in Trinidad, where she was born on October 7, 1893. Her father, a Scotsman, entertained her with stories of his grandfather's aquaintance with Sir Walter Scott, whose novels she was devoted to. She removed to England with her parents when she was a young teenager, and, already having eight years of story-writing to her credit, won a writing prize (a five pound box of chocolates) from a magazine when she was fourteen. Alice discovered a desire to teach, and attended the Pratt Institute in America at the age of nineteen in order to become a kindergarten teacher. Following her studies, she simultaneously taught a course on children's literature at Columbia University (where she had obtained her Master's degree) and taught elementary school. Alice once more picked up her talent for writing, creating works of nonfiction and historical fiction which were lauded for detail and accuracy in respect to genre. She is also recognized for her skill with drama and interesting, believable characters. Alice Dalgliesh died in June, 1979.