Engraving of Elizabeth Fry by John James Hinchliff. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
While it is yet day
Gil Skidmore reviews a new biography of Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry
In an afterword to While it is yet Day: The story of Elizabeth Fry Averil Douglas Opperman, an Irish journalist brought up in a Quaker family in Dublin, sets out her hopes for her version of the life of Elizabeth Fry. She wishes to keep the story ‘light’ in order to appeal to ‘young people and those who are not avid readers of history or biography’. She hopes to inspire a new generation and get people talking about Elizabeth Fry and her work.
My first impression of the book was that she had succeeded in her aim and had produced a well-written narrative that gave an honest picture of Elizabeth Fry while avoiding too much emphasis on her failings. It was only as I read on that I began to have misgivings.
The book aims to be readable rather than academic and, perhaps to that end, contains no references and no bibliography. The author acknowledges the help given to her by others, including researchers in America. She tells us of her own extensive researches in various libraries, but only in general terms. The only other book on the subject mentioned is Elizabeth Fry, Quaker Heroine written by Janet Whitney in 1937 and given to Averil Douglas Opperman by her father. This combination of ‘fact and a little whimsy’ has, she says, remained an influence. It was only when I opened my own copy of Whitney that I realised how much of an influence, possibly unconscious, it has been.
On closer examination it becomes evident that what we have here is not a new biography of Elizabeth Fry for this generation but a skilfully edited and revised version of Janet Whitney’s original work, which, as the author died in 1974, is still in copyright. Cuts have been made, sections and sentences rearranged, but again and again words, phrases and structure have been copied straight from Whitney’s book. A few minimal additions have been made to the text – an extra verse of a Byron poem; passing mentions of modern concepts such a ‘baby brain’, post-natal depression and menopausal symptoms; some updating and expansion of historical background, an account of Elizabeth Fry’s funeral – but none of this adds up, in my opinion, to substantially more than ‘editing’.
This is disappointing but a question still remains – with Janet Whitney’s book out of print and not generally available, is this version worth buying? On balance, the answer is probably yes. It remains a good read and a good introduction to the life of an inspiring woman and Averil Douglas Opperman has done a thorough job of editing it. It is just a pity that Janet Whitney has not been given the credit that is her due.
Gil edited and wrote an introductory essay to Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker life: Selected letters and writings in 2005 for Altamira Press, now published in their Sacred Literature series by Yale University Press.
While it is yet Day: The story of Elizabeth Fry by Averil Douglas Opperman, Orphans Publishing. ISBN: 9781903360149, £16.99.
