About Anna Gordon Keown
Lived 1899 – 1957 (aged 57–58). Anna Gordon Keown was a novelist.
Anna Gordon Keown (1899–1957) was an English writer and poet.
She married writer and physician Philip Gosse (1879–1959), son of Edmund Gosse. When she died, her husband presented a large collection of literature to the University of Leeds in her memory, known as the Keown Collection (which is within the larger Brotherton Collection).
Among her works, perhaps the most famous is her book The Cat who saw God (1932), a comic drama about a cat who is possessed by the Roman Emperor Nero who decides to settle down with an old English spinster. In the week beginning 14 November 1932, Time listed it as one of their "Books of the Week", noting it as "amusing in the English manner.".
Another of her best-known works is a sonnet she wrote in her youth during World War I. Entitled Reported Missing, it is studied to this day in British schools as part of the OCR GCSE English literature syllabus.
Reported Missing
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Important facts
People in Anna Gordon Keown's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Anna Gordon Keown's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Anna Gordon Keown?
English author and poet (1899–1957)
When was Anna Gordon Keown born?
Anna Gordon Keown was born in 1899.
When did Anna Gordon Keown die?
Anna Gordon Keown died in 1957.
What was Anna Gordon Keown's occupation?
Anna Gordon Keown was a novelist.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Anna Gordon Keown
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Anna Gordon Keown. https://biography.guide/anna-gordon-keown/
MLA: "Anna Gordon Keown." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/anna-gordon-keown/.
Chicago: "Anna Gordon Keown." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/anna-gordon-keown/.
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