The Grey Brethren

Michael Fairless was the pseudonym used by English Christian writer Margaret Fairless Barber (1869-1901) whose book of meditations, The Roadmender (1902), became a popular classic. She was born in Yorkshire, the youngest of three daughters, and was initially tutored at home by her mother and elder sisters but when her father died in 1881 she was sent to relatives in Torquay, Devon, where she attended a local school. It was here she became aware of a spinal condition that would affect the rest of her life. In 1884 she went to London to train as a nurse at a children's hospital and she also did charitable work in London's East End. However, her health continued to deteriorate, including her sight, and she was in continual need of care herself. To the dismay of her relatives she was effectively "adopted" by the cultured Dowson family who took care of her in their own home. Unable to continue with her charitable work, Margaret took up writing under the pseudonym of Michael Fairless. Her first book The Gathering of Brother Hilarius (1901) was a religious romance, but it was The Roadmender, published after her death, that achieved great success, being reprinted 31 times in 10 years. The Grey Brethren was also issued posthumously, first appearing in 1905, and consists of a number of short fragments in prose and verse, including four fairy tales for children. Reprinted from the third impression of 1911.