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Arthur Mee Books (and Magazines) in English:
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 | 1906: Every Man for Himself ROBSON, Maisie (editor) ISBN 1 872438 33 4 (2003) A5 pbk., 72pp Available from The King's England Press Further information: Selections from the Harmsworth Self-Educator, edited by Arthur Mee. |
| A Children's Life of Jesus.
Arranged by Arthur Mee. [With plates.] pp. xiii. 107. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1949. |
| Arthur Mee and the Strength of Britain ROBSON, Maisie (editor) ISBN 0 9542318 4 2 (2006) A5 pbk., 64pp Available from The King's England Press Further information: Selections from three pamphlets written by Arthur Mee during World War 1: Defeat or Victory?, The Fiddlers, and The Parasite, all of which were written with the aim of closing down the drink trade in Britain – at least for the duration of the war. The Arthur Mee we see through the pages of this booklet is very different from the one we see in his children’s books: he’s as patriotic as ever, but the rose-coloured spectacles are definitely missing. The subject of these pamphlets was of vital interest to Arthur Mee, who was a life-long teetotaller; and he was passionate in his call for Prohibition. Why was he so concerned? In his own words, “We are the trustees of the future; as we hand it down the life of ages to come will be. All posterity sleeps in the bodies of those who live on earth to-day, all the posterity of the United Kingdom is subject to us now.” A valuable booklet, both for those interested in Arthur Mee and his beliefs, and for those concerned with twentieth-century English social history. |
| Arthur Mee's 1000 Heroes: Immortal
Men & Women Of Every Age & Every Land.
[With illustrations]. 2 vol. pp. 1828. Amalgamated Press: London, 1933, 34. |
| Arthur Mee's Blackout Book. pp. xii. 328. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1939. |
| Arthur Mee’s Book of Everlasting Things pp. 352. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1927. Further information: This volume, like Arthur Mee’s Book of 1000 Beautiful Things (see below), is an anthology in prose and verse. The scope of the two books is similar, but the extracts included in this volume are often longer. Includes “a gallery of masterpieces of the world’s great artists.” |
| Arthur Mee’s Book of One
Thousand Beautiful Things: Chosen From The Life And Literature Of The World. pp. xxvii. 320. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1925. Further information: Arthur Mee described this anthology as a “miscellany of beauty”: “In these pages are poems that will never die, thoughts that have come to us down the centuries, words that fill the air with music when they are said aloud, pictures we all love to see, gems of craftsmanship from artists who love beauty and have served it well, sculptures that adorn the galleries of the world.” All of the extracts (poetry, Bible passages, quotations from great men and women…) are fairly short, so that this volume (like the Book of Everlasting Things) is an excellent resource for anyone requiring suitable passages for copywork. |
| Arthur Mee's Book of the Flag: Island and Empire. With pictures, etc. pp. 368. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1941. |
| Arthur Mee’s Children's
Bible: Being the Bible Story Told in the Bible’s Own Words. pp. xx. 474. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1924. Further information: Illustrated, and with additional notes by Arthur Mee. Quote from the front cover of the book: “Here is the oldest book in the world in a new form, the Bible in all its beauty, all its tenderness, all its majesty, produced for a child to read and love and understand. The words that everybody wants are here, in the incomparable English of the Authorised Version, arranged so that the narrative is practically unbroken. It is believed that in this volume—as sweet a book as a child can have, moving wonderfully from Genesis to Revelation—the dearest lover of the Book of Books will miss nothing that the heart desires.” |
| Arthur Mee's
Children's Encyclopedia. 10 vol. Educational Book Co.: London, 1964. Further information: This was the latest edition of “Arthur Mee” to be published, 20 years after his death. Each (red) volume is divided into two parts (A and B), so there are actually 20 books in the set. This edition has been heavily edited from the original books (see below): even the purpose behind them is different, and while they still have the same basic scope, in my opinion they are not as good as the earlier editions. |
| Arthur Mee's Dream of England ROBSON, Maisie ISBN 1 872438 33 4 (2003) A5 pbk 72pp Available from The King's England Press Further information: The life of Arthur Mee from his working-class boyhood to his latter years when he was a household name around the world. |
| Arthur Mee's Gift Book For Boys
And Girls Who Love the Flag. pp. 184. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1917. Further information: This book was written for the young readers of the Children’s Encyclopaedia and My Magazine. It was published during the days of World War One, and all proceeds went to the Red Cross. The Gift Book was described as a “budget of things to read,” and its readers were asked, “as they read of the wonders of this world, to remember those who [made] their bodies a living wall to save the world.” The volume includes a great variety of articles, stories (some very good, while others are twaddle), poetry and pictures. Some have special reference to the current world situation, e.g. “To Your Friend In The Trenches”, or “A Child’s Prayer in Time of War” Others are informative, e.g. “What a Thousand Years Is” (measuring 1000 years through the lives of twelve boys and girls, from Egbert, playing with his father’s trumpet in 917 to Winnie, born in the 19th century, whose grandson read the Gift Book to her in the year 1917); “Old King Coal” (a fascinating look at the coal industry, from how coal is formed to the dangers miners face in their work); or “Eleven Things John Ruskin Said” & “Eleven Things Lord Tennyson Said”. Still others are for the amusement of the reader, e.g. “Who is He? Twenty Ways of Counting Out” (rhymes); “The Blind Men and the Elephant” (poem); “Picture Proverbs” (e.g. A man, whose hat has blown off, and who clutches a butterfly net in one hand, illustrates “He is a foolish man who tried to catch the wind”); “The Man Who Would Keep House” (story). Read extracts from Arthur Mee's Gift Book here |
| Arthur Mee's Golden Year: Over The Hills And Far Away. pp. 316. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1922. Further information: Arthur Mee’s account of his travels with his family in Europe and the Near East. Sir John Hammerton said of this book that the “Golden Year was ‘a year’ only in fancy. It may have comprised some 360 days, but these represented the sum total of his holiday travels over fifteen or sixteen years!” Beautiful descriptions, and a number of photographs are included. Chapters are: The Golden Year Italy: The Treasure House Of The World Florence: Florence Out Of Doors The Cathedral Of Milan: Carlo Borromeo Sleeps Venice: Venice In All Her Glory Rome: The Shadows Of Caesar Pompeii: The City That Passed In The Night Switzerland: The Stairway To The Skies Somewhere In France: The Search For Nothing To Do The Riviera Hills: The Mediterranean Walls Of France Provence: The Surprise And Splendour Of Provence Paris: The City Of Beautiful Things Norway: The Ship Among The Hills Egypt: The Great Sights Of Egypt Gizeh: Inside The Great Pyramid Biban-El-Muluk: The Sleeping Kings Banks Of The Nile: The Little Room Of Pharoah’s Chancellor A Ride In The Skies: The Sight That Never Was On Sea Or Land The Splendours Of The World: Treasure Upon Earth |
| Arthur Mee's Hero Book,
etc. [With plates.] pp. x. 317. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1921. |
| Arthur Mee's Letters to Boys. pp. viii. 158. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1913. Further information: See below under Talks to Boys. |
| Arthur Mee's Letters to Girls. pp. viii. 135. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1915. Further information: See below under Talks to Girls. |
| Arthur Mee's Library. [Selections from works by the author.] 6 vol. Hodder and Stoughton: London, 1924. This includes the following titles: Heroes of the World Heroes of the Flag The Wonderful Journey The Story of the Island The Glory of the Island The Adventure of the Island Further information: There is a note in the front of one of his other books which says that these "six volumes contain in cheaper form much of the fascinating material in Arthur Mee's Little Treasure Island, his Golden Year, and his Hero Book". These titles appear to have been reprinted later as part of another collection: “the Uniform Edition” of “Arthur Mee’s Gift Books”. Our copy of Heroes of the Flag and The Story of the Island appear to be from the original “Arthur Mee’s Library”, and are smaller books; while Heroes of the World, The Wonderful Journey and The Glory of the Island are in the “Gift Books” edition, along with Heroes of the Bible, Heroes of Freedom, They Never Came Back, Dreams Come True, and others. Heroes of the World (“from Arthur Mee’s Hero Book”) contains a series of biographies, and 8 illustrations. Chapter titles are: The Crowded Hours The Hero of Patriotism: Joan of Domremy The Hero of Freedom: Toussaint L’Ouverture The Hero of Humanity: William Lloyd Garrison The Hero of Truth: Socrates The Hero of Justice: Abraham Lincoln The Heroism of Science: The Panama Gang Heroes of Every Day: Some Ordinary Folk Heroes of the Flag (“from Arthur Mee’s Little Treasure Island”). Brief biographies, and 17 illustrations. Chapter titles are: Sir Francis Drake Sir Walter Raleigh Walter Greenway Captain Cook Robert Louis Stevenson The Men Who Saved the World The Spirit of the Flag The Wonderful Journey (“from Arthur Mee's Golden Year”). History & geography – a “living” account. Illustrated. Chapter titles are: Rome: The Shadows of Caesar Pompeii: The City that Passed in the Night Provence: The Surprise and Splendour of Provence Egypt: The Great Sights of Egypt Gizeh: Inside the Great Pyramid Biban-El-Muluk: The Sleeping Kings Banks of the Nile: The Little Room of Pharaoh's Chancellor The Splendours of the World: Treasure Upon Earth The Story of the Island (“from Arthur Mee’s Little Treasure Island”). Subjects: History, geography, literature, patriotism. 16 pages of illustrations. Chapter titles are: Time And Tide Have Made Us The Flag That Stirs The World The Tale The River Tells How They Brought The Good News To The Island The Long, Long Trail Of The Island The Wonder-Story Of Shakespeare’s England The Very Heart Of The Island A Ride Down The Roads Of Time |
| Arthur Mee’s One Thousand Famous Things. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. xv. 336. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1937. Further information: The short blurb inside the cover says “Arthur Mee's famous collection of pictures, stories, poems, speeches, prayers, solemn and moving events – a wonderful anthology of ‘things that are lovely and of good report’.” |
| Arthur Mee's Rainbow Books. 8 pt. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1938. Further information: Titles in this series are: Shall We Live Again Life Calls to Youth Good Morning Young England One Hundred Lovely Things Our Life’s Star Little Brother Ishi The Broken Dream of Wilbur Wright Christ Passing By |
| Arthur Mee's Story Book. pp. 328. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1930. |
| Arthur Mee's Talks to Boys.
Being the revised edition of “Arthur Mee's Letters to Boys.”
pp. 192. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1926, (New edition 1940). Further information: Subject – Character training Chapter headings: Civilisation Wants A Man (Introductory chapter) Talks: To The Boy Who Will Be Prime Minister To The Boy Who Loves A Game To The Boy Who Is Leaving School To The Boy Who Loves A Friend To The Boy Who Will Manage A Business To The Boy Who Gets Over Difficulties To The Boy Who Loves A Hero To The Boy Who Will Be Mayor Of His Town To The Boy Of Good Hope To The Boy Who Loves A Book To The Boy Who Will Never Grow Old To The Boy Who Loves The Highest A Trailing Cloud Of Glory. |
| Arthur Mee's Talks to Girls: Being
the revised edition of “Arthur Mee's Letters to Girls.”
pp. 158. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1926. Further information: Subject – Character training Chapter headings: Preface The Years Of Your Life Talks: To A King’s Daughter To The Girl Who Is Wondering To The Girl Who Loves Her Home To The Girl In Search of Pleasure To The Girl Who Thinks And Feels To The Girl Who Will Have A Vote To The Girl Who Will Marry Some Day To The Girl Who Has Made Her Choice To The Girl On The Highway Of Life To The Girl In Search Of Opportunity To The Girl Who Brings Comfort In Pain To The Girl Who Loves The Highest The Days Of Our Lives Read extracts from Talks to Girls here |
| Arthur Mee's Wonderful Day. pp. 344. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1923. Further information: Various true stories, articles, and poems, tied in with the different times of the day: Dawn, Noon, Evening, and Night. Some of the contents include: “The Lonely Heavens” (about the solar system); “A Breath of Fresh Air” (our need for oxygen, and the red blood cells that carry it round our bodies); “A Tale of Two Boys” (Arthur Mee’s reflections on the death of his brother); “The World on an Editor’s Desk” (various news reports from the Children’s Newspaper); “The Loveliest Things in the World” (selections from the Bible & other well-known poetry and prose), and more. Illustrated. |
| Bath. [An illustrated guide book.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 52. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| Birmingham.
[An illustrated guide book.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 53. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| Call the Witnesses: Poland, Czecho-Slovakia,
Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France.
(The truth for the plain man all over the world.) MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 48. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1941. |
| Cambrian Notes and Queries. Reprinted (with additional
matter) from the “Weekly Mail.” (Conducted by A. Mee.) vol. 1. pt. 1-3.
1902. Cardiff, 1902. Further information: I am unsure as to whether this volume is by “our” Arthur Mee, or the Welsh writer, but to be on the safe side, I have included it on this list. |
| Canterbury: The Shrine And Cradle Of
Our Faith. [With illustrations.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 61. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1949. |
| Chester. [An illustrated guide book.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 52. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| Child of Wonder: An intimate
biography of Arthur Mee. [With portraits.] HAMMERTON. Sir. John Alexander pp. 252. pl. XVI. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1946. Further information: A biography of Arthur Mee, written by a personal friend and colleague. I suspect we get to know as much about Sir John Hammerton as about Arthur Mee through this book! The author makes it very plain that (a) this is not a conventional biography, and (b) he is relying largely on memory rather than on notes for the things he wrote. While it is a good introduction to the life and thought of Arthur Mee, there are a lot of gaps, and a lot of questions left unanswered. I believe there is a definite place for a new full-length biography of Arthur Mee, based on original research (a collection of his personal papers are held in a library in Nottingham). And when somebody has written it, I would love to read it! |
| Defeat or Victory? The Strength of
Britain Book. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper” and HOLDEN (John Stuart) pp. 119. Strength of Britain Movement: London, 1917. Further information: A plea for the prohibition of the drink trade during the First World War. See Arthur Mee and the Strength of Britain |
| Dreams Come True. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 184. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1936. Further information: Biographies of various “dreamers”; 8 illustrations. Chapters include: The Dreamers The Wonderful Monk of Brunn [Gregor Mendel] A Cup of Cold Water for London [Hugh Myddelton] The Forgotten Man Whose Work Lives On [Barthélemy Thimmonier] Every Ship Owes Homage to Him [Samuel Plimsoll] His Spirit Burns on the Toc H Lamp [Gilbert Talbot] A Man Wearing a Cap [Keir Hardie] Brunel the Conqueror [Marc Isambard Brunel] Dreamers of the Wireless Age [Morse, Marconi, & others] Robert Bakewell and His Marvellous Farm The Scholars Who Kept the Torch Alight Thank God for Edwin Chadwick The Driving Force of the Mosquito Men [Joseph Le Prince] John Hodgson and His Wonderful Lamp He Dreamed that Slaves Should Be Set Free [Granville Sharp] He Hurried Up the World [Sir Goldsworthy Gurney] Saint Anthony of the Slums [Lord Shaftsbury] Billy Beach of Hudson Bay In the Bed of the Atlantic [Charles Tilston Bright] The Prophet of a New Hope [Richard Oastler] A South African Boy's Dream of the Empire [Kingsley Fairbridge] Little Pompon The Will of William Willett A Candidate for Trafalgar Square [Baden-Powell] |
| England's Mission, by England's Statesmen: Chatham-Chamberlain.
Edited by A. Mee. pp. xv. 362. Grant Richards: London, 1903. |
| Enchanted Land:
Half-a-Million
Miles in the King’s England. MEE, Arthur. pp.291. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1936 Further information: This is the introduction to The King’s England series (see below). Includes several pages of illustrations. |
| Every Child's Creed. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1921. |
| God Knows: A Faith For Youth. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 208. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1935. |
| Harmonsworth's Children's
Encyclopedia, Edited by Arthur Mee. 10 vol. pp. 7412. Amalgamated Press: London, 1922-25. Query: Should this be “Harmsworth’s”? |
| Harmsworth History of the World.
(Associate editors: A. D. Innes, A. Mee, J. A. Hammerton.) pp. 6576. Amalgamated Press: London, 1909. |
| Harmsworth Popular Science. Edited by A. Mee. pp. 5192. Amalgamated Press: London, 1911, 13. |
| Harmsworth Self-Educator: A Golden
Key To Success In Life. Edited by A. Mee. 8 vol. Carmelite House: London, 1905-07. Further information: See also 1906: Every Man for Himself Sir John Hammerton (who was also involved with this publication) notes that it was "a fortnightly publication, averaging 136 pages, each part containing over 100,000 words and hundreds of pictures and diagrams." The Self-Educator was written for the benefit of men and women of the middle and working classes, and the subject matter ranged from literature and journalism (the latter pages written by Arthur Mee himself) to "how to become a successful grocer or ironmonger". Hammerton was of the opinion that "a Self-Educator was not the place to instruct a reader [in such trades], but Arthur was obsessed with the idea of completeness, omitting no branch of trade or profession. Anyhow, the way in which the public of 1906 removed the Educator from the book-stalls as quickly as a new pile appeared was even more remarkable than their appetite had been for the Encyclopaedia". |
| Heroes of Freedom. [With plates.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 192. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1936. Further information: Biographical accounts. Several illustrations are included. Chapter titles are: Six Men of Six Cities Captain Greatheart [Fridtjof Nansen] A Captive in Chains [Caractacus] He Challenged Caesar [Vercingetorix] He Closed the Book Columbus Opened [Simon Bolivar] Old John Brown The Innkeeper Who Faced Napoleon [Andreas Hofer] The Galley-Slave of Great Courage [Miguel de Cervantes] The Sultan's Prime Minister [Lloyd William Mathews] Citizen Tissot Mr Valiant [Arthur Hopkins] The Sergeant and His Men [Mohammed Ismael] The Noble Filipino [José Rizal] A Hero of Uganda [Alexander Mackay] He Lifted up the Hearts of Men [Woodrow Wilson] Hungary's Robert Burns [Alexander Petofer] Cromwell of South Africa [Louis Botha] Galahad of Fleet Street [W.T. Stead] Corfield of Somaliland [Richard Corfield] A Pioneer of England [Frederick Courtenay Selous] Cromwell's Admiral [Robert Blake] Five Men and Charles Stuart [Hampden, Pym, Holles, Haselrig,& Strode] |
| Heroes of the Bible. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 189. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1936. Further information: Stories of men and women of the Bible. Several illustrations are included. Chapter titles are: The Noblest of all our Possessions [the history of the English Bible] The Dreamer at Pharaoh's Court [Joseph] The First Great Minister of Health [Moses] Captain Courageous [Joshua] Samuel the Kingmaker The King's Son and the Shepherd Boy [David & Jonathan] Solomon in all his Glory The Haunting Mystery Man [Elijah] The Prophet of Jerusalem [Isaiah] The Proud Captive of Babylon [Daniel] The Voice Crying in the Wilderness [John the Baptist] Hero Of Heroes [Jesus of Nazareth] The Tale of the Twelve [The twelve Disciples] Enthralling Figures in the Life of Jesus [Includes parables & miracles] A Citizen of Arimathea [Joseph] The First Martyr of Jerusalem [Stephen] Scotland's Favourite Disciple [Andrew] The Matchless Paul The British Lady in the Bible [Claudia] |
| I See All. The World's First Picture
Encyclopedia, Edited by Arthur Mee. 5 vol. pp. 3008. Amalgamated Press: London, 1928-30. |
| Immortal Dawn. [Impressions of the year 1911.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 224. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1942. |
| Jesus Said: Every Word He Spoke Found
Instantly. Arranged by Arthur Mee. pp. 210. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1931. |
| Joseph Chamberlain: A Romance Of
Modern Politics. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 160. 1901. |
| King and Emperor: The Life History of
Edward VII MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 171. S. W. Partridge & Co.: London, 1901. |
| Lincoln. [With illustrations.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 52. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| Little Treasure Island: Her Story And Her Glory. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 312. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1920. Further information: Arthur Mee at his patriotic best. Quote from the introduction: “…No nobler thing can happen to any boy or girl than to be born upon this precious isle set in a silver sea, from which has gone out to the ends of the earth a spirit of freedom, a love of truth, a thirst for knowledge, a yearning for justice, a faith in God, a hope for immortality, without which the world could never be the happy place it is to live in.” The chief sections in the book are: Scenes in the Story of the Island (includes chapters on the flag, the coming of Christianity; Sir Walter Raleigh, & more). Scenes in the Glory of the Island (chapters on Shakespeare, English museums, the glories of nature, & more) The Great Adventure of the Island (World War I – true stories, and personal thoughts about the events of 1914-1918) Includes illustrations |
| London, The City And Westminster, by Arthur Mee 1975 |
| Lord Salisbury: The Record Premiership Of Modern Times. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. x. 156. Hood, Douglas & Howard: London, 1901. |
| Manchester. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 52. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| Mother Shipton's Prophecies: The Earliest Published
Editions
Of 1641, 1684 And 1686. Together With An Introduction.
To Which Is Added, The Story Of Knaresborough: Ancient Yorkshire Town Of Her
Birth. [by Arthur Mee] 1989 Further information: From the catalogue entry, it appears that Arthur Mee’s contribution to this book is the story of Knaresborough – and as this edition of Mother Shipton’s Prophecies was published more than 40 years after his death, it is possible that the actual compiler took the information from one of Arthur Mee’s other books (possibly the King's England volume on Yorkshire?) |
| New Harmsworth Self-Educator. Edited by A. Mee. 7 vol. pp. 6315. Amalgamated Press: London, 1914, 15. |
| Nineteen-Forty: Our Finest Hour. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 218. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1941. Further information: A book for older readers (no illustrations). Extract from the introduction to the book: “The chapters of this book have been written week by week as the poignant drama of our finest year unfolded itself. They are not meant to be a narrative of events. They are an optimist’s view of the war, and are gathered together as a record of the emotions stirring within us during these 366 days and nights.” |
| Northamptonshire. by Arthur Mee 1975 |
| Salute The King: George The Sixth And
His Far-Flung Realms. [With plates,
including portraits.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 184. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1937. |
| Series: Children's Encyclopædia Magazine. March, April.
1911. London, 1911. |
| Series: Children's Magazine. May 1911-March 1914. London, 1911-14. |
| Series: My Children's Magazine. April 1914-May 1915. London, 1914, 15. |
| Series: My Magazine. June 1915-Nov. 33. London, 1915-33. Further information: Described as both “the monthly companion of the Children’s Newspaper”, and “Continuing the Children’s Encyclopedia”, many of the articles in this magazine are informative, with titles like: “Ulysses Grant, the Man Who Stood by Lincoln”; “The Seed that Covered the Earth: How Christianity Came”; “The Wonderful Thing with an Ugly Name” (Digestion); “The Majestic Top of the World: Tibet as it Always Was”; and many more, covering a range of history, geography, the sciences, literature, and art. The magazines include stories and poems, puzzle pages, and advertisements which themselves are very interesting! Read extracts from My Magazine here |
| Series: The Children's Encyclopaedia. Oct. 1910-Feb. 1911. London, 1910, 11. |
| Series: The Children’s Newspaper Further information: From an advertisement in My Magazine, in March 1929: “The C.N. is 10 [years old] It is the most cheerful newspaper in the world. It takes good things to every quarter of the globe. It is giving our boys and girls a faithful record of what is happening in the world, and a true conception of the things that matter week by week. It has been said of it that it is the most potential factor in the bringing-up of the rising generation. It comes out every Thursday morning, the only newspaper of its kind in the world. If your children do not see it they are losing the best thing that twopence can buy for them…” |
| Stratford-upon-Avon. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 53. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| The Children's Encyclopaedia.
Edited by Arthur Mee. 8 vol. Amalgamated Press: London, 1908-10. Further information: See notes below (This edition has a blue binding). |
| The Children's Encyclopedia.
Edited by Arthur Mee. 10 vol. Educational Book Co.: London, 1925. Further information: The Children's Encyclopedia was originally published in fortnightly parts, with the first appearing in March 1908, and the final one in February 1910. By the time this final part appeared in print, The Educational Book Company had begun to issue the Encyclopedia in volume form. The first edition was comprised of 8 volumes, but subsequent editions all had 10; between 1908 and 1946 the work went through 26 editions, as well as being re-issued in serial format. The original 8-volume set had a blue binding; later editions were issued in brown, and later burgundy bindings. The original title was the “Children’s Encyclopaedia”, but in the 1922-1925 edition, the diphthong was dropped, and it became “Children’s Encyclopedia”, a spelling which was retained through subsequent editions. These volumes were immensely popular throughout the English-speaking world: several generations of children throughout the British Empire were brought up on The Children's Encyclopedia; Walter M. Jackson of the Grolier Society added more American material to it and published it as The Book of Knowledge in the United States (where it went through numerous editions, and was just as well-loved as the British version); it was also translated into a number of other languages: in France it was published under the title Qui? Pourquoi? Comment? and there were other editions in Italian, Spanish, and Chinese. The books themselves were originally divided into 19 groups: 1. Earth and its Neighbours; 2. Men and Women; 3. Stories; 4. Animal Life; 5. History; 6. Familiar Things; 7. Wonder; 8. Art; 9. Ourselves; 10. Plant Life; 11. Countries; 12. Picture Atlas; 13. Poetry and Nursery Rhymes; 14. Power; 15. Literature; 16. Ideas; 17. The Bible; 18. Things to Make and Do; 19. School Lessons. Read extracts from The Children's Encyclopedia here |
| The Children's Encyclopedia. Originated and edited by Arthur
Mee. 10 vol. pp. 7384. Educational Book Co.: London, 1953. Further information: See notes above. Burgundy binding. |
| The Children's Hour.
[An anthology.] Arranged by Arthur Mee, etc. [With plates.] pp. 352. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1928. |
| The Children's John Bunyan.
Arranged by Arthur Mee, etc. [With plates.] pp. 292. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1929. |
| The Children's Life Of Jesus In The
Bible's Own Words. Arranged by Arthur Mee.
[With plates.] pp. xv. 206. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1926. |
| The Children's Shakespeare. Arranged by Arthur Mee, etc. pp. 976. Amalgamated Press: London, 1933. |
| The Children's Shakespeare In Shakespeare's Own Words.
Arranged by Arthur Mee ... Illustrated, etc. 2 vol. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1926, 28. |
| The Children's Treasure House.
Edited by A. Mee. Amalgamated Press: London, 1926-28. Further information: A 12-volume series described as "A Companion to the Children's Encyclopedia". Titles of individual volumes are: 1. Immortal Heroes of the World: Some of the greatest people who have ever lived 2. Nature in All Her Glory: The book of the changing year 3. The Motherland and the Empire: Round the world with the flag 4. The Realms of Gold: Books, pictures, and beautiful rare things 5. How and Why: Questions, answers, and explanations 6. The Panorama of the World: The earth’s great places and peoples 7. The Storyteller: Five hundred tales and fables 8. Our World and the Others: The age-old story of earth and sky and sea 9. The Bedtime Book: One thousand cheerful things 10. The Amazing Animal Kingdom: Wild life and its adventures 11. The Great Poetry Book: Nine hundred poems of the world 12. The Fireside Lesson Book: Easy studies out of school I have only seen volumes 5 and 12. Volume 5: Lots of fascinating facts to do with science and technology. How machines of various kinds work (from aeroplanes to sewing machines – some of this is quite dated); other scientific explanations are far less out-of-date: the physics in “All about a ball” is especially interesting, and the illustrations are delightful. Volume 12: Sections include “Learning the ABC”, “Picture grammar”, “Picture Arithmetic”, “The Little Book of Drawing”, “The Little Book of Painting”, “The Little Book of Clay-Modelling”, “The Little Book of French”, “Story Dictionaries in English and French”, “Action Games in English and French”, “Prose and Poetry in French and English”, “The Little Book of Music: Sixteen Little Songs”, “Lessons on the Piano”, “The Road to Health”, “The Little Book of Natural History”, “The Little Book of First Aid”, “Tales of the Great Word Family”, and “The Little Book of Schoolroom Lectures”. Read extracts from The Children's Treasure House here |
| The Cigarette Peril of Youth. Reprinted from the Sunday
School Chronicle. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 31. Sunday School Union: London, 1901. |
| The Coming of the Guides: A play for girls. Adapted from
‘Wonderful Day' by Arthur Mee, etc. HILL. Mary Constance pp. 15. Epworth Press: London, 1932. [Not by Arthur Mee] |
| The Everlasting Army. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 22. 1918. |
| The Fiddlers: Drink In The Witness Box. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 63. Morgan & Scott: London, 1917. Further information: See Arthur Mee and the Strength of Britain |
| The
King's England,
Edited by A. Mee. (With plates). Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1936- (reissued with plates and maps, 1964-). Further information: This series was conceived as “A New Domesday Book of 10,000 Towns and Villages”. Arthur Mee and a band of fellow-researchers spent five years travelling around England: “We have been into every city and town and village and seen their great possessions, the old things, the beautiful things, the historic, strange, and curious things…” and they recorded these, along with stories of local people and legends. Apart from the introductory volume (Enchanted Land), there were 36 county volumes, published between 1936 and 1945. |
| The Lake Counties: Cumberland, Westmorland. Arthur Mee 1994, c1937. |
| The Loveliest Stories In The World, Chosen From The Bible In
Its Own Words. Arranged by Arthur Mee, etc. pp. 256. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1929. |
| The New Children's Encyclopædia. Edited by Arthur Mee, Feb-Sept 1910. London, 1910. |
| The Parasite. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 95. Morgan & Scott: London, 1918. Further information: See Arthur Mee and the Strength of Britain |
| The Pilgrim's Progress. Arranged for children by Arthur Mee. pp. 224. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1930. Further information: Includes 12 pages of illustrations. |
| The Pocket Bible.
Arranged by Arthur Mee. [With plates.] pp. 390. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1927. |
| The Storytellers.
Simon Appleyard. First published in 1991 by This England Books, 73 Rodney Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, 150 pages. ISBN 0 906324 20 3 Further information: Short biographies of 12 English writers, including Arthur Mee, “The Christian Crusader of Fleet Street”. Illustrated with black & white photographs and line drawings. Includes quotations from his works. |
| The Wonder Box, A companion to the Children's Encyclopædia.
no. 1-4. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” 1909. |
| The World's Great Books in Outline.
Entirely new revision by J. A. Hammerton [of “The World's Great Books”]. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper” and HAMMERTON (Sir John Alexander) 7 vol. London, 1925-27. |
| The World's Great Books,
with pictures by the world's great artists. Editors: Arthur Mee, J. A. Hammerton. 5 vol. pp. 3456. Amalgamated Press: London, 1909, 10. |
| They Never Came Back. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 191. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1936. Further information: A series of biographies of explorers who “never came back” (8 Illustrations). Chapter titles: Scott and his Friends Queen Elizabeth’s Bravest Man [Francis Drake] The Man who was only 59 [Sir John Franklin] Lost in the Continent he Found [John Cabot] The Hero of Nova Zembla [William Barents] Sir Walter Raleigh’s Lost Colony Journey’s End on a Coral Reef [La Perouse] A Father and his Little Son [Henry Hudson] He Made the Empire Possible [Captain James Cook] Pathfinder of the Ocean Wastes [William Baffin] The Vanished Duke [Duke of the Abruzzi] Tsar Peter’s Great Dane [Vitus Bering] The Discoverer of the Pacific [Balboa] Companions of the Desert [Burke & Wills] A Mystery in the Heart of Australia [Ludwig Leichardt] The Disappearance in the Clouds [Mallory & Irvine] The Poor Boy of Blantyre [David Livingstone] His Ships were the First to go Round the World [Ferdinand Magellan] A Hero and a Saint [Brother Damien] He Sailed Away Like Ulysses [Roald Amundsen] |
| Who Giveth Us the Victory.
[A religious work.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 191. G. Allen & Unwin: London, 1918. |
| Why We Had To Go To War.
[With plates.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 126. University of London Press: London, 1939. |
| Winchester. MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 52. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
| Wonderful Year. [Impressions of 1942.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 148. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1943. |
| York. [An illustrated guide
book.] MEE. Arthur. Editor of “The Children's Newspaper.” pp. 52. St. Hugh's Press: London, 1950. |
The original book list was compiled by doing a search of the British Library Catalogue (online).
Some of the extra information was derived from the books themselves, other information came from Sir John Hammerton, Child of Wonder: An Intimate Biography of Arthur Mee.
I would also like to thank those who have helped in any way with this list. Special thanks must go to:
| My parents, for introducing me to the Children’s Encyclopedia in the first place; and my brother Timothy for offering me a copy of Arthur Mee’s Book of Everlasting Things, which was my first indication that Arthur Mee had written other books as well. |
| Susan Priolo, Rebecca Williams, Jenny Reynolds, and Carol Hudson – friends who have either lent me their own copies of Arthur Mee books and magazines, or who have assisted me (in various ways) to build up my own collection. |
| My daughters, Jennifer and Laura, for assistance with typing or with reading aloud to me while I typed. |
I still have a lot of work to do to complete this list, but would like to do so as time and resources permit. If anyone has information on further titles listed here, and would be happy to supply me with details, I would be most grateful.
Copyright © Ruth Marshall 2003, 2006
[1] These are the three Arthur Mees:
| Arthur, 'Idriss', MEE (male: 1860 - Jan 15, 1926) |
| Arthur (Henry) MEE (male: Jul 21, 1875 - May 27 (or 28) 1943 ) The Children's Life Of Jesus [biography 1926] King's England [28 vols. non-fiction1936-1943] Shropshire [non-fiction1939] |
| Arthur James MEE (male: May 12, 1906 - Dec 13, 1995 ) |
[Information from the
New General Catalog of Old Books and
Authors (2003 May)
(Author names starting with Me)
|
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