Aileen Francis Paterson (née Henderson) MBE (30 November 1934 – 23 March 2018) was a Scottish writer and illustrator, best known for her series of children's books about

Maisie MacKenzie Maisie MacKenzie is the title character, a cat, in a series of books by Aileen Paterson. Maisie first appeared in ''Maisie Comes to Morningside'' in 1984 and has since appeared in the animated television series '' Meeow!''. In 2011 Lothian Buses ...

, the kitten.

Biography

Aileen Paterson was born in the Fife town of

Burntisland Burntisland ( , sco, also Bruntisland) is a former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 6,269. It was previously known as Wester Kingho ...

to William and Helen Henderson. As a child, she moved to

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

, before gaining a place at Edinburgh Art College in 1951, where she specialised in pottery. She gained a diploma in designs and craft in 1955 and worked at the Portobello potteries in Edinburgh. After marrying her first husband, Bayo Ayodeji, in 1955, she moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. After the marriage ended in divorce, Paterson moved back to Kirkcaldy and earned an education qualification in 1962. She worked as an art teacher in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

in the 1960s. For most of her adult life, she lived in Edinburgh and was a passionate supporter of that city. She worked as an art teacher between the 1960s to 1980s. The title of her first book, ''Maisie Comes to Morningside'' (1984), was inspired by the American crime writer Chester Himes' book ''

Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy thriller film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the blaxp ...

'' (1965). Maisie Mackenzie, the heroine of Paterson's series of children's books, wears a

kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish H ...

and

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

jumper and lives in Morningside, a suburb of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Maisie is a brave, adventurous kitten exploring a world that ultimately reinforces the good things in life such as friendship, food, fun, community and football. The wit and finely tuned social observation engages adults as much as children. Maisie's world is almost entirely populated by cats, so that although there is a belligerent budgie and the occasional horse, there are no dogs or humans. However, Maisie's adventures take place in real places (reflected in the books' illustrations) such as

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. ''Maisie Bites the Big Apple'' features the

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several major ...

murals in the Metropolitan Opera House. Paterson's final book in the series (2006) sees Maisie investigating strange goings-on in Edinburgh's

Botanic Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

. In 2011,

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...

made Maisie the face of the Number 5 bus, which goes through the character's home district of Morningside. Several stories were also turned into an animated series called '' Meeow!'' starring

Stanley Baxter Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows '' The Stanley Baxte ...

Death and legacy

Paterson died on 23 March 2018 at the age of 83. Following her death in 2018, a memorial stone featuring an image of 'Maisie of Morningside' was raised in Edinburgh's Grange Cemetery, on the site of her son Max's burial plot. The grave lies in the enclosed modern section to the west of the main cemetery.

Awards and honours

In the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

, she was awarded an MBE for services to children's literature.

Selected works

# ''Maisie comes to Morningside'' (1984) # ''Maisie goes to Glasgow'' (1984) # ''Maisie's Mystery Tour'' (1984) # ''Maisie Meets her Match'' (1984) # ''Maisie in London'' (1985) # ''Maisie and the Monster'' (1985) # ''Little Marco'' (1987) # ''Maisie goes to School'' (1988) # ''Maisie and the Space Invader'' (1988) # ''Maisie and the Posties'' (1988) # ''Maisie's Festival Adventure'' (1988) # ''Maisie Loves Paris'' (1989) # ''Maisie goes to Hospital'' (1989) # ''Maisie's Colouring Book'' (1990) # ''What Maisie did Next'' (1991) # ''Maisie in the Rainforest'' (1992) # ''Maisie and the Puffer'' (1992) # ''The Pigs of Puddledub'' (1992) # ''Maisie Digs up the Past'' (1994) # ''Maisie at the Edinburgh Book Festival'' (1994) # ''Maisie Goes to Hollywood'' (1994) # ''Maisie's Merry Christmas'' (1995) # ''Maisie's Second Colouring Book'' (1995) # ''Maisie's Fun and Games Activity Book'' (1996) # ''Children's Guide to Edinburgh llustrated' (1997) # ''Maisie and the Pirates'' (1998) # ''Maisie's Millennium Calendar'' (1999) # ''Maisie Jumps into Japan'' (2000) # ''Maisie Bites the Big Apple'' (2002) # ''Maisie and the Abominable Snowcat'' (2004) # ''Maisie and the Botanic Garden Mystery'' (2006) # ''Maisie's Botanic Activity Book'' (2008) Paterson also contributed to the following anthologies: * ''Braw Stories'' (2005) * ''Scottish Summer Schools'' (2007)

References

External links

The Write Stuff - National Library of ScotlandThe Scottish Book Trust Author Details Aileen Paterson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Aileen 1934 births 2018 deaths Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Burntisland People from Kirkcaldy Scottish children's writers Scottish illustrators Scottish women artists Scottish women writers Writers from Edinburgh