Victoria Eleanor Louise Doorly (1880, Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...

 - 1950) was an award-winning British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 writer of children's books. She was born in Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 as the daughter of William Anton Doorly and Louise Brown, but moved to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 upon the premature death of her father in 1887. She was raised by a great-aunt in Leamington Spa

Leamington Spa

Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

, and studied in a French lycée for a while.

Doorly had an enduring love for France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, which was reflected in her literary output. She wrote three popular biographies of famous French scientists - Fabre

Jean Henri Fabre

Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre was a French entomologist and author.-Life:Fabre was born in Saint-Léons in Aveyron, France....

, Pasteur

Pasteur

Pasteur could refer to* Louis Pasteur , French chemist and microbiologist who invented:**Pasteurization**The pasteur pipette, both named after him-Things and places named after Louis Pasteur:* Pasteur Institute* Pasteur point, level of oxygen...

, and Curie

Marie Curie

Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...

. The last of these books, entitled The Radium Woman

The Radium Woman

The Radium Woman is a biography of the scientist Marie Curie written for children by Eleanor Doorly. It was published in 1939 and was the first non-fiction book to be awarded the Carnegie Medal. Woodcuts by Robert Gibbings illustrated each chapter...

(1939) - won the Carnegie Medal

Carnegie Medal

The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...

. She also published a couple of history books.

She was headmistress of the King's High School For Girls

The King's High School For Girls

The King's High School for Girls is an independent school for girls in Smith Street, Warwick, England. There are currently 700 girls in years 7-13...

 in Warwick

Warwick

Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...

 from 1922 to 1944.http://www.khsw.warwks.sch.uk/history/uniform.htm http://www.kingshighwarwick.co.uk/uploads/1/High_Times_Autumn_2009_1.pdf

Selected works

• England in Her Days of Peace (1920)
• The Insect Man (1936), a life of Fabre
  Jean Henri Fabre
  Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre was a French entomologist and author.-Life:Fabre was born in Saint-Léons in Aveyron, France....
  
  
• The Microbe Man (1938), on Louis Pasteur
  Louis Pasteur
  Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
  
  
• The Radium Woman
  The Radium Woman
  The Radium Woman is a biography of the scientist Marie Curie written for children by Eleanor Doorly. It was published in 1939 and was the first non-fiction book to be awarded the Carnegie Medal. Woodcuts by Robert Gibbings illustrated each chapter...
  
  (1939), on Marie Curie
  Marie Curie
  Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
  
  
• The Story of France (1944)
• Ragamuffin King (1951), a life of Henry of Navarre