Juliana Horatia Ewing

Juliana Horatia Ewing (née Gatty, 3 August 1841 - 13 May 1885) was an English writer of children's stories. Her writings display a sympathetic insight into children's lives, an admiration for things military, and a strong religious faith. Known as Julie, she was the second of ten children of the Rev. Alfred Gatty, Vicar of Ecclesfield in Yorkshire, and Margaret Gatty, who was herself a children's author. Their children were educated mainly by their mother, but Julie was often the driving force behind their various activities: drama, botany and so on. Later she was responsible for setting up a village library in Ecclesfield and helped out in the parish with her three sisters. Early stories of hers appeared in Charlotte Yonge's magazine Monthly Packet. On 1 June 1867, she married Major Alexander Ewing (1830-1895) of the Army Pay Corps. He was also a keen churchgoer and shared his wife's interest in literature. Within a week of their marriage, the Ewings left England for Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, where he had received a new posting. They remained there for two years, before returning to England in 1869 and spending eight years in the army town of Aldershot. Although her husband was sent overseas again, to Malta in 1879 and Sri Lanka in 1881, Ewing's poor health precluded her from accompanying him. On his return in 1883, the Ewings moved to Trull, Somerset, and then in 1885, to Bath, in the hopes that the change of air would do her good. However, her health continued to decline, and after two operations, she died in Bath on 13 May 1885. She was given a military funeral at Trull three days later. Her sister Horatia Katharine Frances Gatty (1846-1945) published a memorial of Julie's life and works, which includes a publication history of her stories. A later selection includes some of Julie's letters and drawings about Canada. A biography by Gillian Avery appeared in 1961.