Juliana Horatia Ewing

A children’s book author, Juliana Ewing was born Juliana Gatty in 1841. The daughter of a vicar, she grew up in a large family in Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, England. Educated at home, she was encouraged to write by her mother, who edited Aunt Judy’s Magazine, a publication for children later edited by Ewing and her sister. Ewing married a major in the British army, and the couple moved to New Brunswick, Canada. During her three years there, she sent home letters with watercolor illustrations of her life and surroundings. Ill health prevented Ewing from traveling abroad with her husband to his other postings, and she lived in England until her death.

Ewing’s writings for children are rooted in family life and folk traditions. Her books include A Flat Iron for a Farthing: Or Some Passages in the Life of an Only Son (1872), Lob Lie-By-the-Fire: or, The luck of Lingborough, and other stories (1874), Jackanapes (1883), and The Peace Egg and a Christmas Mumming Play (1887). Her 1865 story “The Brownies” inspired the name for the Brownies of the Girl Scouts.