Michael Fairless, Her Life and Writings
Frontispiece and title page of biography of Michael Fairless, Rastrick-born author.
Author: William Scott Palmer & A. M. Haggard
Date: March 1920
Location: Rastrick
Format: Biography
Document ID: 101493
Library ID: 28144276
Michael Fairless was the pseudonym of Margaret Fairless Barber (1869-1901), daughter of Fairless Barber of Rastrick. Her father was an evangelist for temperance and worked with Brighouse Mechanics Institute and the Penny Savings Bank. She worked in a London hospital for a while, then entered a residential institute as a result of serious and long-term spinal problems, which stayed with her for life.
She wrote several novels under her nom-de-plume: The Gray Brethren, The Gathering of Brother Hilarius, and, most famously, The Roadmender, which she finished days before she died. The latter was published a year after her death and won her immense popularity, albeit after her death. She died in Sussex, where she is buried in the village of Ashurst.
The portrait on the frontispiece (p 1) is by Elinor Dowson.
