Mary Webb

Mary Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927), was an English romantic novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people which she knew. Her novels have been successfully dramatized, most notably the film Gone to Earth in 1950 by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They inspired the famous parody Cold Comfort Farm. She was born Gladys Mary Meredith in the Shropshire village of Leighton, 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Shrewsbury. Her father was a schoolteacher, who inspired his daughter with his own love of literature and the local countryside. On her mother's side, she was descended from a family related to Sir Walter Scott. Mary loved to explore...