Lorna Hill (born Lorna Leatham,[1] 21 February 1902 in Durham, England, died 17 August 1991 in Keswick, Cumbria), was an English author of over 40 books for children.[2] These remained popular into the 21st century.
Lorna Hill
Born
Lorna Leatham (1902-02-21)21 February 1902 Durham, England
Lorna, the daughter of G. H. Leatham and his wife Edit (née Rutter), attended Durham High School for Girls and then Le Manoir, a finishing school in Lausanne, Switzerland. She gained a BA in English literature in 1926, at Durham University, where met her husband, Victor Hill, an Anglican clergyman. They were married in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1928 and in 1931 moved to the remote parish of Matfen, Northumberland, where she played the church organ and ran a Sunday school.[3]
Hill's career as an author began when her daughter Vicki (Shirley Victorine), aged about ten, found a story her mother had written as a child and asked for more about its characters. The result was a series of eight books about Marjorie & Co, illustrated by author. These began to be published in London in 1948. They were followed by the Patience series and several others.
When Vicki left home to be a ballet student at Sadler's Wells in London, Hill missed her and began to write her Dream of Sadler's Wells series. She eventually wrote a total of 40 children's books, as well as La Sylphide, a commissioned biography of the dancer Marie Taglioni and two romances for adults, published in 1978. Hill was then obliged to stop writing by ill health. She is said to have been firm with publishers and to have earned more from her books than many of her contemporaries. Translations of some titles into several other languages appeared, including less usual ones such as Finnish (by Pirkko Biström, 1991), Indonesian (1994), Czech (1995) and Slovenian (by Bernarda Petelinšek, 1996).
In private life, Hill took an interest in animal rights that led to conflict with neighbouring farmers. She moved late in life to Keswick, Cumbria, where she lived with Vicki. She died on 17 August 1991.[4]
The reprint list of Girls Gone By Publishers, based in Radstock, Somerset, included four of Lorna Hill's children's books in 2011, although by 2019 they were out of print.[5] The UK publishing journal The Publisher remarked in 1948, "Lorna Hill writes the kind of books children would write for, and about, themselves if they could."[6]
Bibliographyedit
Marjorie seriesedit
Marjorie and Co (1948)
Stolen Holiday (1948)
Border Peel (1950, illustrated by the author's daughter under the name Esmé Verity)[7]
Northern Lights (1999, written in 1941 but not previously published)[8]
Castle in Northumbria (1953)
No Medals for Guy (1962)
Sadlers Wells series
A Dream of Sadlers Wells (1950)
Veronica at the Wells (1951)
Masquerade at the Wells (1952)
No Castanets at the Wells (1953)
Jane Leaves the Wells (1953)
Ella at the Wells (1954)
Return to the Wells (1955)
Rosanna Joins the Wells (1956)
Principal Rôle (1957)
Swan Feather (1958)
Dress-Rehearsal (1959)
Back-Stage (1960)
Vicki in Venice (1962)
The Secret (1964)
Patience series
They Called Her Patience (1951)
It Was All Through Patience (1952)
So Guy Came Too (1954)
The Five Shilling Holiday (1955)
Dancing Peel series
Dancing Peel (1954)
Dancer's Luck (1955)
The Little Dancer (1956)
Dancer in the Wings (1958)
Dancer in Danger (1960)
Dancer on Holiday (1962)
The Vicarage Children series
The Vicarage Children (1961)
More About Mandy (1963)
The Vicarage Children in Skye (1966)
Adult books
La Sylphide, The Life of Marie Taglioni (1967)
The Scent of Rosemary (1978)
The Other Miss Perkin (1978)
Referencesedit
^A rare mention of her maiden name on a bookseller site: Retrieved 2 April 2011.
^Australian book collectors' site: Retrieved 1 April 2011.
Sourcesedit
Article on Lorna Hill. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
Profile of Lorna Hill. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
Short biography of Lorna Hill. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
May 02, 2024
lorna, hill, born, lorna, leatham, february, 1902, durham, england, died, august, 1991, keswick, cumbria, english, author, over, books, children, these, remained, popular, into, 21st, century, bornlorna, leatham, 1902, february, 1902durham, englanddied17, augu. Lorna Hill born Lorna Leatham 1 21 February 1902 in Durham England died 17 August 1991 in Keswick Cumbria was an English author of over 40 books for children 2 These remained popular into the 21st century Lorna HillBornLorna Leatham 1902 02 21 21 February 1902Durham EnglandDied17 August 1991 1991 08 17 aged 89 Keswick Cumbria EnglandOccupationNovelist teacherNationalityBritishPeriod1948 1978Notable worksMarjorie series Sadlers Wells series Children s literature portal Contents 1 Life and works 2 Bibliography 2 1 Marjorie series 2 2 Sadlers Wells series 2 3 Patience series 2 4 Dancing Peel series 2 5 The Vicarage Children series 2 6 Adult books 3 References 3 1 SourcesLife and works editLorna the daughter of G H Leatham and his wife Edit nee Rutter attended Durham High School for Girls and then Le Manoir a finishing school in Lausanne Switzerland She gained a BA in English literature in 1926 at Durham University where met her husband Victor Hill an Anglican clergyman They were married in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1928 and in 1931 moved to the remote parish of Matfen Northumberland where she played the church organ and ran a Sunday school 3 Hill s career as an author began when her daughter Vicki Shirley Victorine aged about ten found a story her mother had written as a child and asked for more about its characters The result was a series of eight books about Marjorie amp Co illustrated by author These began to be published in London in 1948 They were followed by the Patience series and several others When Vicki left home to be a ballet student at Sadler s Wells in London Hill missed her and began to write her Dream of Sadler s Wells series She eventually wrote a total of 40 children s books as well as La Sylphide a commissioned biography of the dancer Marie Taglioni and two romances for adults published in 1978 Hill was then obliged to stop writing by ill health She is said to have been firm with publishers and to have earned more from her books than many of her contemporaries Translations of some titles into several other languages appeared including less usual ones such as Finnish by Pirkko Bistrom 1991 Indonesian 1994 Czech 1995 and Slovenian by Bernarda Petelinsek 1996 In private life Hill took an interest in animal rights that led to conflict with neighbouring farmers She moved late in life to Keswick Cumbria where she lived with Vicki She died on 17 August 1991 4 The reprint list of Girls Gone By Publishers based in Radstock Somerset included four of Lorna Hill s children s books in 2011 although by 2019 they were out of print 5 The UK publishing journal The Publisher remarked in 1948 Lorna Hill writes the kind of books children would write for and about themselves if they could 6 Bibliography editMarjorie series edit Marjorie and Co 1948 Stolen Holiday 1948 Border Peel 1950 illustrated by the author s daughter under the name Esme Verity 7 Northern Lights 1999 written in 1941 but not previously published 8 Castle in Northumbria 1953 No Medals for Guy 1962 Sadlers Wells series A Dream of Sadlers Wells 1950 Veronica at the Wells 1951 Masquerade at the Wells 1952 No Castanets at the Wells 1953 Jane Leaves the Wells 1953 Ella at the Wells 1954 Return to the Wells 1955 Rosanna Joins the Wells 1956 Principal Role 1957 Swan Feather 1958 Dress Rehearsal 1959 Back Stage 1960 Vicki in Venice 1962 The Secret 1964 Patience series They Called Her Patience 1951 It Was All Through Patience 1952 So Guy Came Too 1954 The Five Shilling Holiday 1955 Dancing Peel series Dancing Peel 1954 Dancer s Luck 1955 The Little Dancer 1956 Dancer in the Wings 1958 Dancer in Danger 1960 Dancer on Holiday 1962 The Vicarage Children series The Vicarage Children 1961 More About Mandy 1963 The Vicarage Children in Skye 1966 Adult books La Sylphide The Life of Marie Taglioni 1967 The Scent of Rosemary 1978 The Other Miss Perkin 1978 References edit A rare mention of her maiden name on a bookseller site Retrieved 2 April 2011 Retrieved 2 April 2011 Caroline Bacon The storyteller for schoolgirls Evergreen Winter 1996 1997 pp 108 113 Retrieved 2 April 2011 Lorna Hill Girls Gone By Publishers Retrieved 22 September 2019 The Publisher journal of the Publishers Association Vol 162 Retrieved 1 April 2011 Retrieved 2 April 2011 Australian book collectors site Retrieved 1 April 2011 Sources edit Article on Lorna Hill Retrieved 27 October 2010 Profile of Lorna Hill Retrieved 27 October 2010 Short biography of Lorna Hill Retrieved 27 October 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lorna Hill amp oldid 1190255436, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
