Henriette Morvan


Enriqueta Peptitpas Cotton, better known as Henriette Morvan or Damita Duende, was a Chilean journalist, writer, and editor. Associated with the genres of children's and young adult literature, she wrote and compiled related stories.

Career

Beginning in the 1930s, children's literature became prominent in Chile. In this context, Henriette Morvan established herself as one of the leaders of the genre, with publications such as Doce cuentos de príncipes y reyes and Doce cuentos de hadas, both from 1938. She was linked to other authors of the time, such as Ernesto Montenegro with his 1930 work Cuentos de mi Tío Ventura, Blanca Santa Cruz Ossa with her compilations of myths and legends, and Marta Brunet with Cuentos para Marisol.
Together with Blanca Santa Cruz Ossa and her sister Elvira, Morvan was one of the main collectors and disseminators of children's literature in Chile in the late 1930s and 1940s. In addition, her work is included in a group of authors "whose main concern was to educate by more didactic methods," among whom was Ester Cosani. In the late 1930s she began a series of contributions to the magazine as part of a collection titled "Damita Duente" – her pseudonym from then on – which included a compilation of legends and fables.
She edited several magazines, such as Campeón and El Cabrito. In addition, she wrote for various publications in the United States, Mexico, and Cuba.

Works