Rose Fyleman
Rose Fyleman was an accomplished English author and singer, born on March 6, 1877, in Nottingham, England. As the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, she faced challenges in her education, eventually dropping out of University College, Nottingham. With financial support, she pursued music studies in France and Germany, later earning a diploma from the Royal College of Music in London. Fyleman's literary career began in childhood, and she published her first poem in a local newspaper at the age of nine. Her break came when her poem "Fairies" appeared in the magazine Punch in 1917, sparking widespread interest. Fyleman's prolific writing included tales of fairies, adventure stories, and plays aimed primarily at children, with notable works such as the children's opera Happy Families and the play Christmas Eve for the Old Vic theatre. In addition to her writing, she founded the children's magazine The Merry-Go-Round in 1923 and translated works from other languages. Fyleman’s gentle storytelling created a whimsical world for children, though her style eventually began to feel outdated. She passed away in London on August 1, 1957.
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Subject Terms
Rose Fyleman
Poet
- Born: March 6, 1877
- Birthplace: Nottingham, England
- Died: August 1, 1957
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Rose Fyleman was born March 6, 1877, in Nottingham, England. She was the third child of John and Emilie (née Loewenstein) Feilmann, Jews who had emigrated from Eastern Europe (and who would change the spelling of their name in 1914). Fyleman attended a private school before entering University College in Nottingham, but she was forced to drop out when she failed an examination. With monetary support from an aunt, she next studied singing in France and Germany, and she returned to Great Britain to earn a diploma from the Royal College of Music in London. She performed publicly for the first time in 1903 at the Queen’s Hall in London, but eventually returned to Nottingham, where she gave voice lessons and worked in her sister’s school. She never married.
Fyleman started writing as a child, publishing a composition in a local newspaper when she was only nine years old. She continued the practice throughout her career as a singer and teacher; she simply wrote her own poetry for students when she grew dissatisfied with the verse available. A fellow teacher suggested that she submit her material to the popular British magazine Punch, and although she was uncertain of her prospects, her poem “Fairies” appeared under the name R. F. in May, 1917, provoking a gratifying flurry of interest among readers and other publishers. Fyleman’s first collections proved equally successful, and she was eventually able to devote herself to writing and lecturing full time.
Many of Fyleman’s stories and poems dealt with fairies (phenomena that she herself did not believe in), but she also wrote more conventional adventure stories as well as short novels and plays, almost all of which were for children. She collaborated with composer Thomas Dunhill on the children’s opera Happy Families, and wrote the 1926 play Christmas Eve for the famous Old Vic playhouse in London. Her Nursery Stories appeared on television in 1949. In addition, Fyleman founded the children’s magazine The Merry-Go-Round in 1923 and published translations from French, Italian, and German. She traveled widely in Europe and made two lecture tours of the United States in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. By ignoring the darker elements of traditional folklore, Fyleman created a gentle, nonthreatening world in which children could delight, but by the end of her life this world had begun to seem dated. She died in London on August 1, 1957.