Annie Barnett (née Beeching; 12 December 1861 – 1941), also known as Mrs P. A. Barnett, was an English writer and editor. She edited anthologies of prose and verse, including books for children, and co-authored the epistolary novel Drifting Thistledown (1910). She supported women's suffrage and was the mother of the birth control campaigner and writer Charis Frankenburg.

Annie Barnett
Born
Annie Beeching

(1861-12-12)12 December 1861
Died (aged 79)
Paddington, London, England
Pen nameMrs. P. A. Barnett
Occupation
  • Writer
  • editor
Education
Period1900–1911
Notable worksDrifting Thistledown (1910)
Spouse
(m. 1888)
Children1, including Charis Frankenburg
RelativesHenry Beeching (brother)

Biography

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Early life and education

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Barnett was born Annie Beeching in Paddington, Middlesex, on 12 December 1861 to James Plummer George Beeching and Harriet Beeching (née Skaife).[1]

Her father was a bookseller and her brother was the author Henry Beeching, Dean of Norwich. She was educated at North London Collegiate school and later studied at the University of London.[2]

Career

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Barnett edited books of prose and verse, including works for children.[3] She also co-authored an epistolary novel, Drifting Thistledown.[4] An article about the book appeared in The New York Times.[5]

Personal life and death

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Barnett married Percy Arthur Barnett (1858–1941), an educationalist and school inspector, at Hampstead in 1888.[6] They had two children: Denis, who died in the First World War, and Charis.[7] Barnett supported women's suffrage and took Charis to hear suffragette speakers in Hyde Park on several occasions.[2] Charis later became a writer and an activist for birth control.[2]

Barnett died in Paddington, London, in the second quarter of 1941, aged 79.[8]

Publications

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  • A Little Book of English Prose. London: Methuen & Co. 1900.
  • Golden Numbers: A Book of Verse for Boys and Girls. London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1907.
  • Song and Story: Selections of Verse. A & C Black. 1907.
  • The Children's Way: A Book of Verses About Children. Selected and arranged by Mrs. P. A. Barnett. London: Jarrold & Sons. 1910.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Drifting Thistledown. With another. London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1910.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • An Anthology of Modern English Prose (1741 to 1892). With Lucy Dale. London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1911.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Stories from Hans Andersen. Selected and arranged by Mrs. P. A. Barnett. London: Macmillan & Co. 1911.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

References

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  1. "Anne Barnett". 1939 England and Wales Register. Ancestry. 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Logan, Anne (8 August 2019), "Frankenburg [née Barnett], Charis Ursula (1892–1985), birth control campaigner and justice of the peace", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.369195, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 17 March 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  3. "'Mrs P. A. Barnett' - Search Results". WorldCat. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  4. "Drifting Thistledown by Barnett, P.A., Mrs. And Another: Very Good+ Hardcover (1910) 1st Edition, Signed by Author(s)". AbeBooks. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  5. "'Drifting Thistledown'". The New York Times. 11 June 1910. p. 27. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  6. "Marriages Jun 1888: Barnett, Percy Arthur". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  7. "Denis Oliver Barnett 30/04/1895 - 16/08/1915". Bedales School. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  8. "Deaths Jun 1941: Barnett, Annie". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 28 March 2025.

Further reading

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