Jean Ingelow (17 March 1820 - 20 July 1897) was an English poet and novelist, who gained sudden fame in 1863. She also wrote several stories for children. Ingelow followed this in 1851 with a story, "Allerton and Dreux", but it was the publication of her Poems in 1863 that suddenly made her popular. It ran rapidly through numerous editions and was set to music, proving popular as domestic entertainment. The collection was said to have sold 200,000 copies. Her writings often focus on religious introspection. In 1867 she edited, with Dora Greenwell, The Story of Doom and other Poems, a poetry collection for children.
A SHIP ON FIRE AT SEA: As she spoke two strange objects came into my view. One was a great pale moon, sickly and white, hanging and seeming to brood over the horizon; the other, which looked about the same size, was red and seemed to lie close at her side. It was not round, but looked blotted and blurred in the mist. Could it be a meteor?