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Penelope Delta (1874–1941)

Author of A Tale Without a Name

39 Works 198 Members 10 Reviews

About the Author

Works by Penelope Delta

A Tale Without a Name (1995) 52 copies
Τρελαντώνης (1991) 29 copies
Μάγκας (1999) 22 copies
Secrets of the Swamp (1986) 18 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Delta, Penelope
Legal name
Δέλτα, Πηνελόπη
Birthdate
1874
Date of death
1941-05-02
Gender
female
Nationality
Greek
Country (for map)
Greece
Birthplace
Alexandria, Egypt
Place of death
Athens, Greece
Places of residence
Alexandria, Egypt
Athens, Greece
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Occupations
children's book author
young adult writer
historical novelist
Relationships
Schlumberger, Gustave (correspondent)
Dragoumi, Ion (lover)
Short biography
Penelope Delta was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Emmanuel Benakis, a wealthy cotton merchant, and his wife Virginia Choremi. She had five siblings whose antics she later immortalized in her writing. When she was eight years old, the family went to live in Athens, Greece. In 1895, she married Stephanos Delta, a wealthy Greek businessman with whom she had three daughters. In 1906, they moved to Frankfurt, Germany for her husband's business. There she published her first novel, Gia tin Patrida (For the Sake of the Fatherland) in 1909. She became one of the earliest, and the most prolific, writers in Greek of children’s books and historical novels for teenage readers. In researching her first book, set in the Byzantine Empire, she began corresponding with historian Gustave Schlumberger, and their continued interaction provided material for her second novel, Ton Kairo tou Voulgaroktonou (In the Years of the Bulgar-Slayer). In 1916, she settled permanently in Athens, where her father had been elected Mayor. In 1925, she contracted polio, which paralyzed her for the rest of her life. Three of her novels based on her own family have been read by generations of children: Trellantonis (Crazy Antonis, 1932), Mangas (1935), and Ta Mystika tou Valtou (The Secrets of the Swamp, 1937). She took poison on April 27, 1941, devastated by Nazi Germany's invasion of her beloved Athens, and died several days later.

Members

Reviews

Re-read this. It was one of my childhood favorites and I will always love it but unfortunately it didn't hold up.
 
Flagged
Silenostar | Dec 7, 2022 |
 
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Bella_Baxter | 2 other reviews | Jul 11, 2022 |

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Associated Authors

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Statistics

Works
39
Members
198
Popularity
#110,929
Rating
½ 3.5
Reviews
10
ISBNs
41
Languages
4

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