Readings in Fiction : History of Children's Literature to 1837 - ENG 360 Resource Guide

Barbauld, a Unitarian dissenter, was one of the most respected and well-known literary figures of eighteenth century England. Although she is renowned for her poetry, which addresses topics ranging from domestic issues to political propaganda, she also was an influential writer of educational and children’s literature and was a literary critic and an editor.

from The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English
Writer, educator and mother of 12. Trimmer’s earliest publication (following the example of Anna Barbauld) was of the lessons she gave her own children: Easy Introduction to the Knowledge of Nature (1782) reached its eleventh edition by 1802. This was followed by Sacred History, Selected from the Scriptures, with Annotations and Reflections Adapted to the Comprehension of Young Persons (6 volumes, 1782—84).

Topic Page
For Hannah More, the Bible was the touchstone of her long productive career: a source of inspiration, a repository of allusions and phrases, a catalog of characters, a sustaining guide. Her deep knowledge of the sacred text, a central element of her daily reading regimen, and unwavering belief in its promises suffused her plays, poems, essays, tracts, and novel.

from Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
Wyss, a Swiss pastor, never actually worked as a writer. His most famous work, Der schweize-rische Robinson (1812), derived from stories he told his four young sons for their instruction and amusement. Every day he would commence telling the story from where he left off the previous day.

from The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature
Mary Sherwood began writing at seventeen in order to help fund the school in which she was a pupil (The Traditions was published by Minerva in 1795), and she continued working on novels in order to support, first her parents and siblings, and later her husband and children.