Barbara Euphan Todd (9 January 1898 – 2 February 1976) was an English writer widely remembered for her ten books for children about a

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...

called

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

. These were adapted for radio and television. The title story was chosen as the first in the publisher's new series,

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to ...

Early life

Todd was born at Arksey, near

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, then in the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, as the only child of an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

vicar, Thomas Todd, and his wife Alice Maud Mary (''née'' Bentham).ODNB entry by Elizabeth J. Morse
Retrieved 18 June 2012. Pay-walled.
/ref> Barbara was brought up in the village of Soberton,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Todd biography on bookrags.com
/ref> and educated at

St Catherine's School, Bramley St Catherine's School is an independent girls' boarding and day school in the village of Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, England. The school is divided into a senior school, for ages 11–18, and a preparatory school for girls aged 3–11. ...

, near

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. She worked as a VAD during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After her father's retirement, she lived with her parents in Surrey and began writing.

Writings

Much of Todd's early work was published in magazines such as '' Punch'' and ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', but she also wrote two volumes of poems about children, illustration on the top board was by Ernest Shepard and a dustwrapper illustrated by Margaret Tarrant: ''Hither and Thither'' (The book itself was not illustrated) (1927) and ''The Seventh Daughter'' (1935). In the 1920s, Todd started writing novels for children, some of them in collaboration with her husband, Naval

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

John Graham Bower (1886–1940), whom she married in 1932. The couple moved to

Blewbury Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about south of Didcot, south of Oxford and west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it t ...

near

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where Bower wrote fiction and essays under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Klaxon", and Todd, as "Barbara Euphan", for ''South Country Secrets'' (1935). Together they wrote ''The Touchstone'', in which observation of the countryside is joined by interest in its history, in a similar way to

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's ''

Puck of Pook's Hill ''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...

''.Entry on "Camping and tramping fiction"
in: ''The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English'' (Cambridge, UK: CUP, 2001). Retrieved 18 June 2012. Commander Bower died in 1940. Todd's only novel for adults was '' Miss Ranskill Comes Home'' (1946), which tells of a woman who returns to England after being stranded on a desert island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Todd continued to write novels into her old age: the last appeared in 1972. Among her other works were adaptations of folk stories for radio, and plays and stories written in collaboration with other writers, but it is mainly her books about

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

that still attract readers.

Worzel Gummidge

Todd's ten novels about Worzel Gummidge, a

who comes to life, are: *''Worzel Gummidge, or The Scarecrow of Scatterbrook'' (1936) *''Worzel Gummidge Again'' (1937) *''More About Worzel Gummidge'' (1938) *''Worzel Gummidge and Saucy Nancy'' (1947) *''Worzel Gummidge Takes a Holiday'' (1949) *''Earthy Mangold and Worzel Gummidge'' (1954) *''Worzel Gummidge and the Railway Scarecrows'' (1955) *''Worzel Gummidge at the Circus'' (1956) *''Worzel Gummidge and the Treasure Ship'' (1958) *''Detective Worzel Gummidge'' (1963) The novels have been illustrated by various artists, including Diana Stanley, Elisabeth Alldridge, Will Nickless and Jill Crockford. In the 1950s, Todd collaborated with Denis and

Mabel Constanduros Mabel Constanduros (' Tilling; 29 March 1880 – 8 February 1957) was an English actress, screenwriter and BBC Radio personality. She gained public notice playing Mrs.Buggins on the radio programme ''The Buggins Family'', which ran from 1928 to ...

on a series of Worzel Gummidge radio plays for children. A television series, ''Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective'', was made in 1953. In 1967, five Worzel Gummidge stories were narrated by

Gordon Rollings Gordon Charles Rollings (17 April 1926 – 7 June 1985) was an English actor who mainly appeared on television, but also appeared on-stage, radio and in feature films. Biography He was born in Batley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Engla ...

in five episodes of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

children's serial ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' was a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in Reading (activity), reading. The programme was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the ...

''. A second television series, adapted by

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse Order of British Empire, CBE (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. He was also a noted arbiter of newspaper style and journalisti ...

and Willis Hall, was broadcast in 1978–1981. A further television derivative was '' Worzel Gummidge Down Under'' (1987–89, Channel 4), in which the main character moves to New Zealand. A new television adaptation, ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

'', in 2019 was written and directed by, and starred,

Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...

Other books

*''Poems'' (1925) *''Hither and Thither'' (1927) *''Mr Blossom's Shop'' (Thomas Nelson, publication date unknown; illustrated by E. S. Duffin).

Short stories

*"A Bunch of Balloons". ''Cornhill Magazine'', May 1926 *"The Vengeance of Vespervigilus". ''The Sketch'', 1 July 1931 *"The Modernist". ''The Sketch'', Christmas Number 1931 *"The Little Wheelbarrow". ''The Sketch'', 7 October 1945 *''The Story of Prickles The Hedge-hog'' (The New Guide Readers, Grade I) (Birmingham: Davis & Moughton Ltd, date unknown)

Poetry

*"Arachene, the Spider". ''Cornhill Magazine'', March 1926 *"A Wanderer's Song". ''Cornhill Magazine'', May 1928 *"Who Killed Bret Rabbit?". ''Londonderry Sentinel'', 27 December 1928 *"Spring Cleaning". ''Londonderry Sentinel'', 18 April 1931

Short articles

*"The Making of the Winter-Sportsman". ''The Sketch'', 18 February 1931 *"Ye Olde English - In Foreign Parts". ''The Sketch'', 18 March 1931

Radio

Worzel Gummidge

*"Worzel Gummidge". BBC Regional Programme, [Daye of broadcast of first episode not yet established to 15 April 1936. Rebroadcast as ‘’The Scarecrow of Scatterbrook" *"The Scarecrow Party". BBC Regional Programme (The Children's Hour), 1 July 1936 *"Guy and Gummidge". BBC Regional Programme (The Children's Hour), 4 November 1936 *"Gummidge's New Clothes". BBC Regional Programme (The Children's Hour), 18 November 1936 *"Worzel Gummidge Goes Shopping". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 5 September 1945 *"Barge Ahoy!". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 5 October 1945 *"Sail Along O’ Me". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 7 November 1945 *"Worzel Gummidge". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 1 December 1945 *"Scairey Gummidge Goes to School". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 8 December 1945 *"Worzel Gummidge's Christmas Party". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 28 December 1945 *"A Friend for Scairey". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 2 February 1946 *"Worzel Gummidge and the Circus". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 3 May 1946 *"Worzel Gummidge and the Golden Bird". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 1 January 1947 *"Worzel Gummidge and the Treasure Ship". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 4 October 1947 to 7 February 1948 *"Worzel Takes Charge". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 17 April 1948 *"Scarecrows Alone". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 11 December 1948 *"The Scarecrows of Scatterbrook". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 8 January to 30 April 1949 *"The Scatterbrook Flower Show". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 28 May 1949 *"Worzel Gummidge and the Scarecrow Competition". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 25 June 1949 *"Worzel Gummidge on the Island". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 8 October 1949 to 4 May 1950 *"The Scarlet Cuckoo: A Worzel Gummidge Play for April Fools’ Day". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 1 April 1950 *"Earthy Mangold and Her Friends". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 28 December 1945

Other

*"The Sleeping Beauty". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 20 April 1949 *"The Goldfish and the Piano Tuner". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 20 July 1949 *"Beauty and the Beast". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 16 August 1949 *"Jack and the Beanstalk". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 15 November 1949 *"How Far Is It To Bethlehem?". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 25 December 1949 *"The Frog Prince". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 3 June 1950 *"Rapunzel". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 3 November 1950 *"Snow White and Rose Ref". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 15 February 1951 *"Little Brother, Little Sister". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 25 July 1951 *"The Princess and the Pea". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 31 October 1951 *"Toads and Diamonds". BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 20 February 1952

Adaptation for radio

*"Worzel Gummidge and Saucy Nancy". Adapted by Geoffrey Dearmer. BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 16 February - 2 March 1945 *"Worzel Gummidge Takes a Holiday". Adapted by Geoffrey Dearmer. BBC Home Service (Children's Hour), 8 June to 6 July 1945

Death

Barbara Euphan Todd died in 1976 at a nursing home in Donnington, Berkshire. Her stepdaughter, the anthropologist Ursula Graham Bower, Ursula Betts, remembered her as "warm and kind", but recalled mainly her "Deadpan, dry – and sometimes Sardonicism, wry – sense of humour", the hallmark of her Worzel Gummidge books.

References

External links

"Barbara Euphan Todd Biography"
at BookRags.com

at BooksellerWorld.com (UK First Edition Books) *
Barbara Euphan Todd
at Persephone Books, Publisher & Bookseller (PersephoneBooks.co.uk) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Barbara Euphan 1890 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English writers 20th-century women writers British women in World War II English women children's writers People educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley People from Blewbury People from the City of Winchester People from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster People from Shaw-cum-Donnington Writers from Hampshire Writers from South Yorkshire