Pennell of the Indian Frontier

The story of Theodore L. Pennell [1867-1912] and his work as a medical missionary on the Afghan frontier retold for children. My thanks to Redcliffe College for providing me with a copy of the book to scan. This title is in the public domain.

Norman James Davidson [1860-1936], Pennell of the India Frontier. The Fine Story of Dr. T.L. Pennell’s Life on the Afghan Frontier Told for Boys & Girls. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd., 1927. Hbk. pp.60. [Click to download complete book in PDF]

The family of the Pennells is of ancient West-country origin, and traces its descent from ancestors who were already living at Penhall, in Cornwall, before the Conquest. Subsequently the family moved to Lupton in Devonshire, where they resided for some centuries.

About 1890, John Penhale and Richard Penhale are recorded as being Priors of Plympton Priory, and in 1415, a certain Richard Pennell, who was Canon of Crediton and Exeter, and Vicar of Paignton, became Archdeacon of Cornwall. He was also President of the Consistorial Council.

Among the girls, chief interest is attached to Rosamond, who at the age of six weeks was adopted by her eldest sister, then the wife of the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker. It was only by accident that she eventually learned that her supposed mother was really her sister. She was celebrated for her beauty, and her portrait at the age of seventeen by Sir Thomas Lawrence is a renowned and familiar picture. When a child at Kensington Palace, she was sent for to play with Queen Victoria. The ” Croker Papers ” are full of references to “Nony,” as she was called. [Continue reading]