Daisy Ashford

Daisy Ashford was born in 1881 in Petersham, Surrey, England. At the age of nine, she wrote "The Young Visiters; or, Mr. Salteena's Plan" as a playful story for her family, complete with misspellings and childlike observations of adult manners. The manuscript was rediscovered decades later and published in 1919 with her original spelling intact, becoming an immediate bestseller. Its blend of naive prose and surprisingly sharp social satire charmed readers and critics alike, including J.M. Barrie, who wrote an introduction. Ashford wrote a few other juvenile pieces but never pursued a literary career, working instead as a secretary and later as a hotelier. "The Young Visiters" remains her sole major work, celebrated as a unique artifact of childhood creativity and a gentle parody of Edwardian society. It has never been out of print.