Queenie Scott-Hopper was the pen name of Mabel Olive Scott-Hopper (1881 â 6 February 1924), an English author of childrenâÂÂs stories, poetry, and devotional literature.
Mabel Olive Scott-Hopper was one of four children born to solicitor Robert Scott-Hopper and Sarah Anne Hopper (née Orwin). Scott-Hopper was born in Gateshead, then part of County Durham, England, and later moved with her parents to Whitley Bay, Northumberland. A biographical note from the anthology Pearls of Poesy (1911) attests that "the whole of her education was the work of her mother, who is her constant companion and abiding inspiration."
Literary historian Jane Platt theorizes that the family struggled financially due to bankruptcy filings by Robert Scott-Hopper in 1889 and 1905. Her younger brother, father, and mother died within years of each other, and eventually Scott-Hopper took her own life by slitting her throat on 6 February 1924. An inquest revealed that she "had been depressed since her mother's death" and suffered from insomnia as well as an inability to think of new stories. Newspapers reported that she visited a bank the morning of her death, which Platt sees as a significant reflection of her mental state.
Scott-HopperâÂÂs prolific output for the twenty year period that she was active as a writer included childrenâÂÂs novels and short stories, occasional poems, essays, and devotional literature. Platt suggests that she was determined to succeed financially, which âÂÂencouraged her to write for any and every outlet which would accept her work.â She cites Scott-HopperâÂÂs address book as an indicator of her anxiety over remuneration for her work, as she recorded terms of payment for various publications next to the names of publishers, most offering one guinea per 1,000 words.
Scott-HopperâÂÂs earliest literary efforts were occasional poems commemorating notable national events. Her subjects were varied, ranging from the efforts to rescue miners in the Sacristan Pit, County Durham, on 16 November 1903 to honoring Belgian soldiers and refugees during the First World War. An example of her work is the encomium âÂÂA Blind ChildâÂÂs Holidayâ (1914), inspired by a story about the blind teacher G. I. Walker and his pupils at the Sunderland Council Blind School. At the Hull Conference of the Museums Association in July 1913, John Alfred Charlton Deas, curator at Sunderland Museum, read her poem to the delegates as part of his plea to enhance museum design to facilitate access and enjoyment for blind visitors. Similar secular poems of praise were dedicated to Princess Marie-José of Belgium and Charles Dickens.
Many of her occasional poems were patriotic, such as âÂÂOde on Empire Dayâ (1907), âÂÂWho Crowns the King?â (1911), and âÂÂItâÂÂs a Death of Gloryâ (1915). Platt links further contributions to religious publications such as Dawn of Day (1911-1921), Home Words (1914-1919), The Sign (1915), Banner of Faith (1916), and Ecclesia (1918).
Her first published book of poetry was Pull the Bobbin! A Garland of Child Verse (1919) which collected nineteen poems into an edition illustrated by Winifred M. Ackroyd. Other poetry included devotional verse, including collections titled In the KingâÂÂs Service (1921), the ChildrenâÂÂs Book of Common Prayer (1921), and Songs of Faith and Fellowship (1924). Her poems were published regularly in The Treasury, An Illustrated Magazine between 1907 and 1911.
Scott-HopperâÂÂs first book-length prose publications were issued in 1905 as part of W. T. SteadâÂÂs Books for the Bairns series. The first, In the Christmas Firelight (1905), a selection of five holiday stories, initiated the form of romantic Christmas tale that would become her stock-in-trade. The Story of Hiawatha, Re-Told in Prose (1905) was based on the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Later book-length fiction featured children overcoming adversity, including Rock Bottom (1920), Angel Unawares (1921), and Nick (1924). Platt believes Rock Bottom to be semi-autobiographical, citing the plot in which a girl âÂÂcopes with an unsatisfactory fatherâÂÂs financial disasters by using her writing talent, first by penning verse for her local newspaper, then by approaching established publishers.âÂÂ
Christmas editions of newspapers annually featured her seasonal stories for children and from 1905 until her death she regularly produced short stories with holiday themes, such as âÂÂA Bunch of Mistletoeâ (1908), âÂÂHow Nell and Bell Met Santa Clausâ (1912), and âÂÂJack Frost and Santa Clausâ (1918). Although her short stories were published throughout England, she was particularly favored by the northern press. By 1907 she was a regular contributor of short stories to the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle. In 1920 the Sunday Sun (Newcastle) ran her weekly illustrated series titled âÂÂFairy Tale Country: And What We Did There.âÂÂ
Reception of Scott-HopperâÂÂs work during her lifetime generally took the form of advertising copy that praised her popularity rather than full and independent reviews. For example, an announcement for Pull the Bobbin! placed in The Monthly Chapbook of 1919 suggested to readers that the âÂÂcharming collection will be welcomed by the nursery, and by the grown ups who are interested in child psychology. Miss Scott-Hopper knows how to capture the child-spirit and the children revealed by her poems go to oneâÂÂs heart.âÂÂ
By 1920, her books warranted brief lines of praise in northern newspapers. A short review of Rock Bottom in 1920 cited characters who âÂÂare delightfully portrayed,â and noted that âÂÂthe author's sense of humor is evident all through the book, while the touches of pathos make it all the more true to life.â Angel Unawares (1921) was reviewed in The Scotsman, which noted that the lessons taught by would be useful for âÂÂ[h]ealthy-minded girls,â while the Dundee Courier thought âÂÂthe account of the many schemes [the protagonist] adopts to do a good turn and smooth out difficulties makes really exciting reading.âÂÂ
Perhaps her most lasting work is the poem âÂÂVery Nearly,â about a childâÂÂs possible encounters with fairies, mermaids, and goblins. It appeared in ' (1920), an anthology edited by Lettice DâÂÂOyly Walters and illustrated by Irish artist Harry Clarke. Clarke selected âÂÂVery Nearlyâ for a full-page black and white illustration. âÂÂVery Nearlyâ was widely republished in subsequent poetry collections and words to the poem were set to music on at least three occasions between 1926 and 1932, including songs by Henry Geehl and Gerrard Williams.
Platt points out that Scott-HopperâÂÂs output was in keeping with much of the didactic and pious literature written by women for secular and religious magazines of the era: âÂÂScott-HopperâÂÂs vaguely mystical verse containing angels and visions was probably acceptable to editors across the church-party divide because it reflected popular taste. It was also thought suitable for children.âÂÂ