Follett, Barbara Newhall, 1914-1939

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1914-03-04

Death 1939

Biographical notes:

The daughter of authors Wilson Follett and Helen Follett, Barbara began writing at the age of 4. As she grew older, she developed a private language of her own, evolved from her view of the world of nature. Her first book, THE HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS, was published when she was twelve. In December 1939 Barbara walked out of her apartment and was never seen again.

From the description of Barbara Newhall Follett papers, 1919-1939. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 495526582

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Barbara Newhall Follett was born on March 4, 1914. Her parents were Wilson Follett, an English professor and a writer, and Helen Thomas Follett, also a writer. Barbara was homeschooled by her mother, who believed that children should learn at their own pace. At the age of five, Barbara started to use the typewriter and learned how to make new words and form sentences. She also began to write letters to relatives and friends.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED During her childhood years, she wrote numerous short stories, essays, and poems about nature. Barbara had a vivid imagination and created a make-believe world called Farksolia, in which she also developed its language and vocabulary.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Her first book, House Without Windows, was published in 1927, when she was thirteen years old. It was critically acclaimed and she wrote another book, The Voyage of the Norman D, that was published the following year, She was hailed as a "child genius" and "a child prodigy author" by newspapers around the country. She made the headlines again when she and her mother went on a long sailing voyage to the Caribbean and the South Seas Islands during the late 1920s. They co-authored a book about their trip together and it was published in 1932 as Magic Portholes.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED After her father left the family in 1928, Ms. Follett and her mother had to find a way of bringing in steady income between their writing assignments. Starting at sixteen years of age, she worked as a typist in New York City while living with her mother. From her late teens to her early twenties, she traveled extensively in the U.S. and Europe with her boyfriend and then husband, Nickerson Rogers.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED On December 7, 1939, after an argument with her husband, Barbara Follett left their apartment with only a few dollars. She was never seen or heard from again. She was twenty-five years old.

From the guide to the Barbara Newhall Follett Papers, 1919-1966, [Bulk Dates: 1919-1939], (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)