Rhoda Power
Encyclopedia
Rhoda Dolores le Poer Power (born 29 May 1890 in Altrincham
, Cheshire
, died 9 March 1957 in London), was a broadcaster and children's writer.
(1889–1940), who became a historian, and Beryl (1891–1974), who joined the civil service, were raised by their maternal grandfather and three aunts, after their father was convicted of fraud in 1892 and left his family, and their mother died in 1903. Rhoda attended Oxford High School, run by the Girls' Public Day School Trust
, and then read modern languages and political economy at St. Andrews University in Scotland (1911–13).
After a year in the United States, Power worked as a freelance journalist in several European countries. In 1917, she became governess to the daughter of a business family in Rostov-on-Don
, Russia, where she became caught up in the October Revolution
. An illness she caught there may have triggered the progressive deafness from which she began to suffer. Power started to write history books for children in the 1920s, with her sister Eileen and later independently. In 1927 she began a career as a broadcaster with the BBC
. She moved with the school broadcasting department to Bristol
in 1939 and worked there for the rest of her life, apart from a year spent traveling in the Americas in 1946-7. In 1950 she was awarded an MBE
for her work.
, has become a children's classic. It tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who takes up with a band of minstrels in the 14th century. As an anonymous reviewer in the Australian newspaper The Age put it in 1957, Redcap's adventures make "a peg on which to hang the stories the people used to hear in the market places and inns 600 years ago.... Miss Power has collected them from authentic sources and they still make very good reading." The idea for the novel may have come from Minstrel Dick. A Tale of the XIVth Century by Christabel Rose Coleridge
(1896).
Several other books in the "Twins" series of introductions to foreign countries were written by others and introduced by Rhoda Power.
Sources: LibraryThing, Book Finder, British Library Integrated Catalogue
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, died 9 March 1957 in London), was a broadcaster and children's writer.
Life and career
The daughter of Philip Power (born 1860), a stockbroker, and Mabel Grindley, née Clegg (1866–1903), Rhoda Power and her sisters EileenEileen Power
Eileen Edna LePoer Power was an important British economic historian and medievalist. Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham in 1889. She was a sister of Rhoda Power, the children's writer and broadcaster...
(1889–1940), who became a historian, and Beryl (1891–1974), who joined the civil service, were raised by their maternal grandfather and three aunts, after their father was convicted of fraud in 1892 and left his family, and their mother died in 1903. Rhoda attended Oxford High School, run by the Girls' Public Day School Trust
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust is a group of 26 independent schools - 24 schools and two Academies - in England and Wales, catering for pupils aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year...
, and then read modern languages and political economy at St. Andrews University in Scotland (1911–13).
After a year in the United States, Power worked as a freelance journalist in several European countries. In 1917, she became governess to the daughter of a business family in Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
, Russia, where she became caught up in the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. An illness she caught there may have triggered the progressive deafness from which she began to suffer. Power started to write history books for children in the 1920s, with her sister Eileen and later independently. In 1927 she began a career as a broadcaster with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. She moved with the school broadcasting department to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in 1939 and worked there for the rest of her life, apart from a year spent traveling in the Americas in 1946-7. In 1950 she was awarded an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
for her work.
Redcap Runs Away
Rhoda Power's novel Redcap Runs Away, illustrated by C. Walter HodgesC. Walter Hodges
Cyril Walter Hodges, known as C. Walter Hodges , was an English illustrator and author. Born in Beckenham, Kent and educated at Dulwich College and Goldsmiths' College, he spent most of his career as a freelance illustrator....
, has become a children's classic. It tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who takes up with a band of minstrels in the 14th century. As an anonymous reviewer in the Australian newspaper The Age put it in 1957, Redcap's adventures make "a peg on which to hang the stories the people used to hear in the market places and inns 600 years ago.... Miss Power has collected them from authentic sources and they still make very good reading." The idea for the novel may have come from Minstrel Dick. A Tale of the XIVth Century by Christabel Rose Coleridge
Christabel Rose Coleridge
Christabel Rose Coleridge was an English novelist who also edited girls' magazines, sometimes in collaboration with the writer Charlotte Yonge....
(1896).
Partial bibliography
- Under Cossack and Bolshevik, 1919. US title: Under the Bolshevik Reign of Terror
- Union Jack Saints. Legends Collected and Rewritten, 1920
- Boys and Girls of History, 1926, with Eileen Power. ISBN 0234770937
- Twenty Centuries of Travel. A Simple Survey of British History, 1926, with Eileen Power.
- Cities and Their Stories. An Introduction to the Study of European History, 1927, with Eileen Power
- The Age of Discovery from Marco Polo to Henry Hudson, 1927
- More Boys and Girls of History, 1928, with Eileen Power. ISBN 0224005030
- How It Happened. Myths and Folk-Tales, 1930
- Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade, 1931
- Stories from Everywhere, 1931. ISBN 0234771801
- Great People of the Past, 1932
- The Kingsway Histories for Juniors, 4 volumes, 1937-9
- Ten Minute Tales and Dialogue Stories, 1943
- The American Twins of the Revolution, 1943
- The Chinese Twins, 1944
- The Big Book of Stories from Many Lands
- Seven Minute Tales. ISBN 0237351358
- Tales for the Telling. ISBN 0237448130
- Here and There Stories, 1945
- The Indian Twins, pre-1950
- The Filipino Twins, 1949
- Redcap Runs Away, children's historical novel, 1952. ISBN 0224005030
- The Spanish Twins, 1954
- We Were There, imaginary eye-witness accounts of historical events, 1955
- The French Twins, 1955
- We Too Were There. More Stories from History, 1956
- From the Fury of the Northmen: and Other Stories That Shaped Our Destiny in 18th to 19th Century England, 1957
Several other books in the "Twins" series of introductions to foreign countries were written by others and introduced by Rhoda Power.
Sources: LibraryThing, Book Finder, British Library Integrated Catalogue
Further reading
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Anne Pimlott Baker, ‘Power, Rhoda Dolores Le Poer (1890–1957)’, first published Sept 2004, 930 words. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/58995. Subscription required.