Vernon L. Soper Biography

Vernon Lissenden Soper (1899-1945) was born on 23rd May 1899 in Fulham, London, to John Cogan Soper (b.1873), a printer, and his wife Ellen Lissenden Soper (b.1875). He served in the First World War.

The 1921 census records that he was by then an artist and living with his parents in Acton, London. It's unclear where he received his artistic training. Vernon was a cousin to fellow book illustrator Eileen Soper (1905-1990) and a nephew of her father, George Soper, a Royal Academy painter.

He married Elise Roberts (b.1908) in Hammersmith in 1932.

Soper died on 5th October 1945 at the age of just 46, his wife Elise dying 5 years later.

Published Books, illustrated by Vernon Soper:-

The Magic Walking Stick stories from the Arabian Knights, by John Buchan c.1920. Colour frontispiece and 2 colour illustrations by Vernon L Soper

The Underdog and Blackman's Wood, 2 New Crime Stories (The Underdog, A Poirot story by Agatha Christie, E Phillips Oppenheim) 1929, dust jacket by Vernon L Soper

Down Green Crescent 1930s by Ethel Nokes, colour frontispiece by Vernon Soper

Robinson Crusoe 1930 by John Buchan, Frances Jenkins Olcott; illustrated by Elenore Plaisted Abbott, Monro S Orr & Vernon L Soper

Illustration for The Wonderland of Knowledge, 1930; book plate "Strange Conveyances of Other Lands" by Vernon Soper

Twenty-Six Radio Stories, by Arthur Russell, pub. The 'Boy's Own Paper' 1930 & 1931, illustrated by Vernon Soper

The Secret Service Schoolboy, 1931 by Ernest Protheroe, ill. Vernon Soper (cover)

The Gambler of Red Gulch, 1933 by Charles Ballew, illustrated by Vernon Soper

The Wonderland of Knowledge, c.1933 Odhams Press Ltd, 12 volumes, illustrated by various artists inc Vernon Soper, Eileen A Soper

Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales, 1934 & 1954, with 12 full-page bw illustrations by Soper

The Dragon Green 1936 by Joyce Bissell Thomas

The Fisherman and the Mermaid by Lillian Bradstock, illus. Vernon Soper (a story in The Children's Golden Treasure Book for 1938)

'Ahmat and the Eagle' by RH Wright; 'Artful Story-Teller'; 'Cat Princess' by Charlotte Cole; 'Tiger, the Man and the Precious Thing' by AG Piggot; all ill. by Vernon Soper, in 'Blackie's Children's Annual' 1938

The Favourite Wonder Bookby Odhams Press Ltd 1938 a compilation with several illustrators, including Vernon Soper, G & E Soper (George Soper was Vernon's uncle, Eileen Soper was George's daughter and cousin of Vernon)

My Great Big Book 1940s inc Vernon Soper's plate entitled "No Parent Was Ever More Surprised"

Bedtime Stories by Enid Blyton, 1942. Coloured cover wraps and black & white line illustrations by Vernon Soper

Muddy Paws 1944 by K D Nason

Trapped in the Jungle 1945

Dragon Island 1946 by Joyce Alice Bissell Thomas, 6 colour plates by Soper

Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales 1954 with intro by Margaret W J Jeffrey

Funland Story Book, pub. Dean. Illustrated by Vernon Soper, Colour Fontis

Once Upon a Time, Harrap 1934 & 1948, illustrated by Honor C Appleton, Charles Robinson and Vernon Soper

The Trail of the Lotto by Anthony Armstrong 1936, dust jacket by Vernon Soper

Children's Golden Treasure Book For 1938 by Wilhelm Hauff, Joyce Mercer, Vernon L Soper et al

Forgotten Memories by Simon Crabtree 1941

Hector Tumbler Investigates 1943 by Simon Crabtree; Illustrated by Vernon Soper (amusing black & white cartoons)

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, 'covers printed in full colour with a striking image by Vernon Soper of a hand reaching for a bottle of poison from a medical cabinet'

The Scoop and Behind the Screen (7 stories by members of the Detection Club inc Agatha Christie Dorothy L Sayers) 1983