Ellen Duurloo (1888–1960)

Ellen Duurloo, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, was the daughter of John Vilhelm Duurloo, a physician, and his Spanish-born wife Maria de la Asuncion Vasques y Morales, a painters' model. She attended the Marie Kruses School, founded by a pioneer in women's education, but left in 1902 and studied languages ​​in Switzerland. In 1917, she went to work as a journalist for the Nationaltindende (National Gazette), where she worked until 1924, then worked for the Social-Democrat Morgenbladet and the Berlingske Tidende. She became a prolific children's author, writing about 60 books as well as a large number of short stories for different magazines. She made her debut in 1919 with the two related books Lise og de to smaa and Tykke og hans Søster, but then didn't publish again for 15 years. She was one of the most-read children's and young adult authors in Denmark in the 1930s and 40s. She published several books under the pseudonyms Grete Lund, Jan Peiter and Margrethe Skovsted.