| Isabel Hornibrook | |
| Birth Date: | 1859 |
| Birth Place: | Ireland |
| Occupation: | Children's author |
| Organization: | International Academy of the History of Science Worcester Woman's Club |
Isabel Hornibrook (1859 – 1952) was an Irish-born American author of children's literature. Her first story was accepted for an English magazine, at the age of 14. Several of her children's books were illustrated.[1] She was an honorary member of the Academie D'Histoire Internationale.
Isabel Katherine Hornibrook was born in the south of Ireland. Her parents were Nicholls Cole-Bowen and Emma Emilia (Bates) Hornibrook.[2] She came from a literary family, her mother being a veteran English author, and her brother a noted short-story writer in London.[3] Her grandfather was Henry Bates, of the British Navy.[4]
She was educated under private tutors.
Hornibrook began to contribute to English papers while she was in her teens. She followed that up by writing eight juvenile books for Blackie & Co. and other English publishers, besides having stories in several magazines.
She spent time in England, Ireland, and France before moving to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1892, where she resided with her sister. Hornibrook she kept up her English connection, and a book of hers was subsequently brought out by Blackie & Co. One of her books for boys, entitled Camp and Trail, was published in 1897 by the Lothrop Company, Boston, and was commended by the U.S. press. Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell wrote to the author regarding it that he was an old haunter of lake and wood ways, and he was sorry for the boy who didn't enjoy it. Some stories of Hornibrook's in the style of A Race for Camp appeared later on in The Youth's Companion.
Hornibrook was an honorary member, with diploma and insignia, of the Academie D'Histoire Internationale (Paris). She was also a member of the Worcester Woman's Club.[5]