E. M. Almedingen
E. M. Almedingen (born Marta Aleksandrovna Almedingen, also known as Martha Edith Almedingen or von Almedingen; 21 July 1898 – 5 March 1971) was a British novelist, biographer, children's author, and member of the Royal Society of Literature. Family On her mother's side, she was descended from the aristocratic Poltoratsky family; her maternal grandfather was Serge Poltoratzky, the literary scholar and bibliophile who ended his days in exile, shuttling between France and England. His second wife, Ellen Sarah Southee, the daughter of an English gentleman farmer, grew up in Kent, and was related to poet Robert Southey. Their children had English governesses and grew up speaking English. Their daughter and the novelist's mother, Olga Sergeevna, grew up in Kent— but, fascinated by her father's native Russian, moved to Russia in 1800s. There, she married Alexander Almedingen, who had turned his back on his family's military traditions to become a scientist. Early life After her father abandoned his family in 1900, they increasingly lived in impoverishment. Despite this, the author was able to attend the Kseniinsky Institute in 1913 and eke out a living in the increasingly desperate times of the Russian revolution and civil war. She received the highest honors