22-521: Mary Howitt (12 March 1799 – 30 January 1888) was an English poet, the author of the famous poem The Spider and the Fly . She translated several tales by Hans Christian Andersen . Some of her works were written in conjunction with her husband, William Howitt . Many, in verse and prose, were intended for young people. Mary Botham , daughter of Samuel Botham and Ann, was born at Coleford, Gloucestershire , where her parents lived temporarily, while her father,
44-614: A three-volume novel called The Cost of Caergwyn (1864). Mary's brother-in-law Godfrey Howitt , his wife and her family emigrated to Australia, arriving at Port Phillip in April 1840. In June 1852, the three male Howitts, accompanied by Edward La Trobe Bateman , sailed there, hoping to make a fortune. Meanwhile, Mary and her two daughters moved into The Hermitage, Bateman's cottage in Highgate , which had previously been occupied by Dante Gabriel Rossetti . The men returned from Australia
66-1015: A career of joint authorship with him. Her life was bound up with that of her husband; she was separated from him only during a period when he journeyed to Australia (1851–1854). She and her husband wrote over 180 books. The Howitts lived initially in Heanor in Derbyshire, where William was a pharmacist. Not until 1823, when they were living in Nottingham , did William decide to give up his business with his brother Richard and concentrate with Mary on writing. Their literary productions at first consisted mainly of poetry and other contributions to annuals and periodicals. A selection appeared in 1827 as The Desolation of Eyam and other Poems . The couple mixed with many literary figures, including Charles Dickens , Elizabeth Gaskell and Elizabeth Barrett Browning . On moving to Esher in 1837, Howitt began writing
88-479: A cunning spider who entraps a fly into its web through the use of seduction and manipulation. The poem is a cautionary tale against those who use flattery and charm to disguise their true intentions. The poem was published with the subtitle "A new Version of an old Story" in The New Year’s Gift and Juvenile Souvenir , which has a publication year of 1829 on its title page but, as the title would suggest,
110-423: A long series of well-known tales for children, with signal success. In 1837 they toured Northern England and stayed with William and Dorothy Wordsworth . Their work was generally well regarded: in 1839 Queen Victoria gave George Byng a copy of Mary's Hymns and Fireside Verses . William and Mary moved to London in 1843, and after a second move in 1844, counted Tennyson amongst their neighbours. While William
132-504: A number of years later. William wrote several books describing its flora and fauna . Their son, Alfred William Howitt , achieved renown as an Australian explorer, anthropologist and naturalist ; he discovered the remains of the explorers Burke and Wills , which he brought to Melbourne for burial. Mary Howitt had several other children. Charlton Howitt was drowned while engineering a road in New Zealand. Anna Mary Howitt spent
154-512: A parody he had made of a negro minstrel song with the " Lobster Quadrille ", a parody of Mary's poem. The poem became a Caldecott Honor Book in October 2003. The Spider and the Fly (poem) " The Spider and the Fly " is a poem by Mary Howitt (1799–1888), published in 1829. The first line of the poem is "'Will you walk into my parlour?' said the Spider to the Fly." The story tells of
176-460: A prosperous Quaker surveyor and former farmer of Uttoxeter , Staffordshire, looked after some mining property. In 1796, aged 38, Samuel had married 32-year-old Ann, daughter of a Shrewsbury ribbon-weaver. They had four children: Anna, Mary, Emma and Charles. Their Queen Anne house is now called Howitt Place. Mary Botham was taught at home, read widely and began writing verse at a very early age. On 16 April 1821 she married William Howitt and began
198-852: A silver medal from the Literary Academy of Stockholm , and on 21 April 1879 gained a civil list pension of £100 a year. In her declining years she joined the Roman Catholic Church , and was one of an English deputation received by Pope Leo XIII on 10 January 1888. Her Reminiscences of my Later Life were printed in Good Words in 1886. The Times wrote of her and her husband: Their friends used jokingly to call them William and Mary , and to maintain that they had been crowned together like their royal prototypes. Nothing that either of them wrote will live, but they were so industrious, so disinterested, so amiable, so devoted to
220-618: A slice?" "Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "kind sir, that cannot be," I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see." IV. "Sweet creature!" said the spider, "you're witty and you're wise. How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes! I have a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf, If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself." "I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say, And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day." V. The spider turned him round about, and went into his den, For well he knew,
242-419: A spider to a fly; " 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy. The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I have many pretty things to shew when you are there." "Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again." II. "I'm sure you must be weary, with soaring up so high, Will you rest upon my little bed?" said
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#1732783101210264-642: A year in Germany with the artist Wilhelm von Kaulbach , an experience she wrote up as An Art-Student in Munich . She married Alaric Alfred Watts , wrote a biography of her father, and died while on a visit to her mother in Tirol in 1884. Margaret Howitt wrote the Life of Fredrika Bremer and a memoir of her own mother. Mary Howitt's name was attached as author, translator or editor to at least 110 works. She received
286-811: The Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrap Book , writing, among other articles, "Biographical Sketches of the Queens of England". She edited the Pictorial Calendar of the Seasons , added an original appendix to her husband's translation of Joseph Ennemoser 's History of Magic , and took the chief share in The Literature and Romance of Northern Europe (1852). She also produced a Popular History of the United States (2 vols, 1859), and
308-772: The assistance of her daughter A Treasuryof Stories for the Young, in three volumes. In the early 1840s Mary Howitt was residing in Heidelberg , where her literary friends included Shelley's biographer Thomas Medwin and the poet Caroline de Crespigny , and her attention was drawn to Scandinavian literature . She and a friend, Madame Schoultz , set about learning Swedish and Danish . She then translated into English and introduced Fredrika Bremer 's novels (1842–1863, 18 vols). Howitt also translated many of Hans Christian Andersen's tales, such as Among her original works were The Heir of Wast-WayIand (1847). She edited for three years
330-412: The cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast. VII. He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den, Within his little parlour – but she ne'er came out again! – And now, dear little children, who may this story read, To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed: Unto an evil counsellor, close heart, and ear, and eye, And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and
352-405: The physician and sanitary reformer Thomas Southwood Smith and his partner, the artist Margaret and her sister Mary Gillies . Mary Howitt had some years earlier arranged that the children's writer Hans Christian Andersen would visit Hillside to see the haymaking during his trip to England in 1847. After 1856 Mary, besides anonymous contributions to periodical literature of the day, edited with
374-738: The silly fly would soon come back again: So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner, sly, And set his table ready, to dine upon the fly. Then he went out to his door again, and merrily did sing, "Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing; Your robes are green and purple – there's a crest upon your head; Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead." VI. Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly, Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by; With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew, Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue:– Thinking only of her crested head, poor foolish thing! – At last Up jumped
396-530: The spider to the fly. "There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin; And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in." "Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "for I've often heard it said, They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!" III. Said the cunning spider to the fly, "Dear friend, what shall I do, To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you? I have, within my pantry, good store of all that's nice; I'm sure you're very welcome – will you please to take
418-599: The work of spreading good and innocent literature, that their names ought not to disappear unmourned. Mary Howitt was away from her residence in Meran in Tirol, spending the winter in Rome, when she died of bronchitis on 30 January 1888. Among those written independently of her husband were: The poem was originally published in 1829. When Lewis Carroll was readying Alice's Adventures Under Ground for publication, he replaced
440-531: Was in Australia, Mary was responsible for getting his collection Stories from English and Foreign Life, a translation Ennemoser's History of Magic, and the Australian Boy's Book, through the press. During this time she also compiled a History of the United States and edited and wrote various juvenile works. In 1853 they moved to West Hill in Highgate close to Hillside , the home of their friends,
462-458: Was reading Alice's Adventures Under Ground for publication as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , he replaced a negro minstrel song with " The Mock Turtle's Song " (also known as the "Lobster Quadrille"), a parody of Howitt's poem that mimics the meter and rhyme scheme and parodies the first line, but not the subject matter, of the original. I. "Will you walk into my parlour?" said
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#1732783101210484-473: Was released before New Year’s Day and was reviewed in magazines as early as October 1828. The opening line is one of the most recognized and quoted first lines in all of English verse. Often misquoted as "Step into my parlour" or "Come into my parlour", it has become an aphorism , often used to indicate a false offer of help or friendship that is in fact a trap. The line has been used and parodied numerous times in various works of fiction. When Lewis Carroll
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