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Born on Hallowe'en in 1897, Constance Winifred Savery lived through the 20th Century, dying on March 2, 1999. She was one of five sisters, four of them authors, and none married.
Her best-known books in the United States were published by Longmans, Green and Co. and included "Emeralds for the King" (perhaps her best book), "The Reb and the Redcoats," "Enemy Brothers," and "Good Ship Red Lily." For over two decades she produced one Christian book a year for the Lutterworth Press in London. These were often given as Sunday School prizes, and they are distinguished from others of their genré by their animated characterizations and Savery's reluctance to preach, preferring that the boys and girls in her stories lead by example.
The last book published in her lifetime was "Emma," a completion of a 19-page fragment left by Charlotte Brontë. "Emma" is on the shelves of most good libraries, but as the authors are given as 'Charlotte Brontë and Another Lady,' her authorship is rarely acknowledged.

Savery regarded "The Memoirs of Jack Chelwood" as her best book, but publishers did not agree, and the book did not see the light of day until 50 copies were privately printed and distributed to research libraries in 2005. The book included, as a signficant part of the plot, a poem that she wrote when she was eight years old.

Savery retained her mind to the end and never stopped writing. At the age of 98, despite failing eyesight, she wrote out in longhand a 692-page revision of her unpublished novel, "The Quicksilver Chronicles," a story that was begun in 1918. If her poem as an eight-year-old is included, she wrote something in every decade of the 20th Century that was eventually published.

The children in her many books are real children, coming alive on her pages. She was fond of incorporating twins into her stories, and they are a feature of her work. She also disliked the notion of retribution, and the wicked people in her stories are generally reclaimed by the books' ends. If not, they fade unnoticed into the background. While the Lutterworth publications are generally available from used book dealers, and two or three others remain in print, too many of her books are no longer available at reasonable prices. I look forward to the day when "Emeralds for the King," "Good Ship Red Lily," "Pippin's House," and "Blue Fields" can be reprinted.

Born on Hallowe'en in 1897, Constance Winifred Savery lived through the 20th Century, dying on March 2, 1999. She was one of five sisters, four of them authors, and none married. Her best-known books in the United States were published by Longmans, Green and Co. and included "Emeralds for the King" (perhaps her best book), "The Reb and the Redcoats," "Enemy Brothers," and "Good Ship Red Lily." ... More