William Terence Deary (born 3 January 1946)[1] is a British children's author of over 200 books, selling over 25 million copies in over 40 languages, best known as the writer of the Horrible Histories series. Since 1994 he has been one of Britain's best-selling authors.[2][3] In 2012, he was the tenth most-borrowed author in British libraries, and was voted Outstanding Children's Non-Fiction Author of the 20th Century by Books for Keeps magazine.[2][4]
Deary was born in Sunderland. His father Bill owned a butcher's shop in Hendon, a poverty stricken area of the city and his mother Freda was the manager of a clothing shop. Deary went to Monkwearmouth Grammar School and intensely disliked his school experience, particularly the style of teaching he received.
He worked as a butcher's boy for much of his childhood, helping in the shop from the age of three. He joined the electricity board as a management trainee[5] when he was 18 and later the Theatre Powys drama company in 1972 and as an actor toured Welsh village halls bringing theatre to children.
He qualified as a teacher at the Sunderland's College of Education and taught drama. He was the Theatre Director/County Drama Advisor of the Lowestoft Theatre Centre in Suffolk between 1975 and 1977 - an educationally linked organisation funded by Suffolk Country Council.[6] He began writing in 1976, turning full-time in 1994, with the publication of the Horrible Histories series.[3][1][7][8]
The Horrible Histories series of books are popular among children for their interesting details, vast information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated. A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CITV in 2002. The Horrible Histories live action comedy sketch show of the same name has been shown on CBBC since 2009. Deary himself has made irregular appearances on the show.[citation needed]
In 2011, he retired from writing children's books after 35 years. He lives in Burnhope, County Durham, England with his wife, Jenny, and their daughter, Sara.[7]
Views on educationedit
Deary is an outspoken critic of schools, which he believes serve no function above keeping children off the street.[11]
Deary has commented: "I've no interest in schools. They have no relevance in the 21st century. They were a Victorian idea to get kids off the street. Who decided that putting 30 kids with only their age in common in a classroom with one teacher was the best way of educating? At my school there were 52 kids in the class and all I learned was how to pass the 11-plus. Testing is the death of education. Kids should leave school at 11 and go to work. Not down the mines or up chimneys, mind, but working with computers or something relevant. Everything I learned after 11 was a waste of time. Trigonometry, Boyle's law: it's never been of any use to me. They should have been teaching me the life skills I was going to need, such as building relationships, parenting and managing money. I didn't have a clue about any of these things at 18. Schools need to change."[12] Deary has also called to "ban Horrible Histories from schools", because "classrooms take all the fun out of his stories".[13]
In 2013, Deary spoke out against public libraries, saying that they "have been around too long", are "no longer relevant" and have "had their day," and derided the Public Lending Right remuneration to authors for library loans. He argued: "we've got this idea that we've got an entitlement to read books for free, at the expense of authors, publishers and council tax payers... We don't expect to go to a food library to be fed. The car industry would collapse if we went to car libraries for free use of Porsches... If I sold the book I'd get 30p per book. I get six grand, [when] I should be getting £180,000."[14]
terry, deary, william, terence, deary, born, january, 1946, british, children, author, over, books, selling, over, million, copies, over, languages, best, known, writer, horrible, histories, series, since, 1994, been, britain, best, selling, authors, 2012, ten. William Terence Deary born 3 January 1946 1 is a British children s author of over 200 books selling over 25 million copies in over 40 languages best known as the writer of the Horrible Histories series Since 1994 he has been one of Britain s best selling authors 2 3 In 2012 he was the tenth most borrowed author in British libraries and was voted Outstanding Children s Non Fiction Author of the 20th Century by Books for Keeps magazine 2 4 Terry DearyBorn 1946 01 03 3 January 1946 age 77 Sunderland County Durham EnglandOccupationAuthor Contents 1 Life and career 2 Views on education 3 Selected books 3 1 Series 3 2 Other books 4 References 5 External linksLife and career editDeary was born in Sunderland His father Bill owned a butcher s shop in Hendon a poverty stricken area of the city and his mother Freda was the manager of a clothing shop Deary went to Monkwearmouth Grammar School and intensely disliked his school experience particularly the style of teaching he received He worked as a butcher s boy for much of his childhood helping in the shop from the age of three He joined the electricity board as a management trainee 5 when he was 18 and later the Theatre Powys drama company in 1972 and as an actor toured Welsh village halls bringing theatre to children He qualified as a teacher at the Sunderland s College of Education and taught drama He was the Theatre Director County Drama Advisor of the Lowestoft Theatre Centre in Suffolk between 1975 and 1977 an educationally linked organisation funded by Suffolk Country Council 6 He began writing in 1976 turning full time in 1994 with the publication of the Horrible Histories series 3 1 7 8 The Horrible Histories series of books are popular among children for their interesting details vast information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CITV in 2002 The Horrible Histories live action comedy sketch show of the same name has been shown on CBBC since 2009 Deary himself has made irregular appearances on the show citation needed Deary received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000 He supports Sunderland AFC 9 10 In 2011 he retired from writing children s books after 35 years He lives in Burnhope County Durham England with his wife Jenny and their daughter Sara 7 Views on education editDeary is an outspoken critic of schools which he believes serve no function above keeping children off the street 11 Deary has commented I ve no interest in schools They have no relevance in the 21st century They were a Victorian idea to get kids off the street Who decided that putting 30 kids with only their age in common in a classroom with one teacher was the best way of educating At my school there were 52 kids in the class and all I learned was how to pass the 11 plus Testing is the death of education Kids should leave school at 11 and go to work Not down the mines or up chimneys mind but working with computers or something relevant Everything I learned after 11 was a waste of time Trigonometry Boyle s law it s never been of any use to me They should have been teaching me the life skills I was going to need such as building relationships parenting and managing money I didn t have a clue about any of these things at 18 Schools need to change 12 Deary has also called to ban Horrible Histories from schools because classrooms take all the fun out of his stories 13 In 2013 Deary spoke out against public libraries saying that they have been around too long are no longer relevant and have had their day and derided the Public Lending Right remuneration to authors for library loans He argued we ve got this idea that we ve got an entitlement to read books for free at the expense of authors publishers and council tax payers We don t expect to go to a food library to be fed The car industry would collapse if we went to car libraries for free use of Porsches If I sold the book I d get 30p per book I get six grand when I should be getting 180 000 14 Selected books editSeries edit Horrible Histories Truly Terrible Tales Master Crook s Crime Academy Tudor Chronicles also known as Tudor Terror Tudor Tales Roman Tales Egyptian Tales The Fire Thief The Knowledge Pirate Tales True Stories Time Detectives The Spark Files World War I Tales World War II TalesOther books edit A Witch in Time The Ape Escape Classified Dangerous Days All about Bede the life and times of the Venerable Bede 672 735 AD 1996 Spooks 1997 Hat Trick Hope Street 1980 ISBN 0 304 30514 6 Ghost For Sale 2001 The Treasure of Crazy Horse 2001 The Custard Kid 2001 The Wishing Well Ghost 2002 Into The Lion s Den 2002 Footsteps in the Fog 2003 The Boy Who Haunted Himself 2004 The Last Viking 2005 Great big Father Christmas joke book The Vampire of Croglin Diary of a murderReferences edit a b Terry Deary s biography official website 2010 Retrieved 4 September 2012 a b Terry Deary Bloomsbury Publishing 2012 Retrieved 4 September 2012 a b Terry Deary The man behind the Horrible Histories The Guardian 14 July 2012 Retrieved 4 September 2012 Children s writers dominate UK s most borrowed books chart Authors Licensing and Collecting Society 2012 Archived from the original on 20 May 2013 Retrieved 4 September 2012 Horrible Histories Durham death and Terry Deary s dodgy drama The Big Issue 16 February 2018 Deary Terry 1946 Encyclopedia com www encyclopedia com a b Terry Deary Achuka Publishing 14 July 2012 Retrieved 4 September 2012 Author Terry is honoured by his home city The Northern Echo 20 July 2000 Retrieved 4 September 2012 Terry Deary I open my mouth I say something Then it causes a row The Telegraph Retrieved 27 November 2022 The Inventory Terry Deary ft com Retrieved 27 November 2022 subscription required Horrible Histories TheTelegraph co uk Retrieved 27 November 2022 Guardian Staff 12 August 2003 Writing history The Guardian Retrieved 12 September 2020 Coreena Ford 17 April 2012 Terry Deary calls to ban Horrible Histories from schools Journal Live Retrieved 2 October 2013 Flood Alison 13 February 2013 Libraries have had their day says Horrible Histories author via theguardian com External links editTerry Deary s homepage Terry Deary at LibraryThing Terry Deary s speech at the Game Based Learning Conference London March 2009 Terry Deary at The Guardian Portal nbsp Children s literature Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Terry Deary amp oldid 1178285476, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
