Anne Bullar (30 December 1812 – 29 June 1856) was an English author of educational texts for children. Her books were highly regarded and in great demand at schools in her time. Early life Anne Bullar was born in Southampton, Hampshire on 30 December 1812, as the fifth of the six surviving children of John Bullar, a schoolmaster and deacon in the Congregationalist church, and his wife Susannah, née Whatman. Little is known of her life or education, although the family was well-educated. Her brothers became solicitors and doctors. Career Anne Bullar wrote at least six books, the first of which, Elements of Practical Knowledge or The Young Inquirer Answered, appeared by 1837, before she had turned 25. They were published anonymously in her lifetime, but appeared in her publisher John Van Voorst's catalogues under her name after her death. They were reviewed in journals intended for readers in Britain's empire and armed services. Several were reprinted many times. The preface to Elements of Practical Knowledge describes the compiler as "the father (and instructor) of a family". It is not known whether Miss Bullar had compiled her father's questions and answers or taken on a male persona for publicity reasons. The author's set out to provide intelligible and correct information and assist those who had difficulty in answering children's questions. A second edition was published to meet demand, although one educator of the time disputed whether the knowledge was in fact "practical" in any way. Domestic Scenes in Greenland and Iceland, her second book, appeared in 1844. It was judged by one reviewer to be "written in a very attractive style, and well calculated to excite a desire for further information." Another thought there was "nothing so well calculated to give children a correct notice of the countries". A recent, 2002 history of the Victorians' fascination with the Vikings takes a more critical view, summing it up as "a stodgy digest", "a pot-pourri of information", with "stern, no nonsense judgements: [such as]... 'wicked' ... 'cruel' ... 'silly falsehoods'". However, although Miss Bullar decried Greenlander traditions as "foolish", she continued, "perhaps if [Greenlanders] were to come to England, they might think some of our customs as silly, and as unbecoming as we think this of theirs." In a time where foreign cultures were often characterized as "savage" or "unenlightened", Miss Bullar was more hesitant to judge the customs of other cultures,