Cynthia Harnett (22 June 1893 – 25 October 1981) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

author and illustrator, mainly of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. She is best known for six

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

that feature ordinary teenage children involved in events of national significance, four of them in the 15th century. They are characterised by meticulous background research and vivid evocation of history. For one of them, ''

The Wool-Pack ''The Wool-Pack'' is a children's historical novel written and illustrated by Cynthia Harnett, published by Methuen Publishing, Methuen in 1951. It was the first published of four children's novels that Harnett set in 15th-century England. She ...

'' (1951), she won the Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. Another, '' The Load of Unicorn'' (1959), was a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal.

Life

Cynthia Harnett was born in London and studied at

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...

. She illustrated the early editions of several of her own novels, but she also collaborated more than a dozen times with the painter and etcher George Vernon Stokes (1873–1954). Several of their books about dogs, the countryside or both credit Stokes and Harnett as co-authors.

Works

;With (George) Vernon Stokes * ''In Praise of Dogs: An Anthology in Prose and Verse'' (Country Life, 1936), compiled by C.M. Harnett, illustrated by George Vernon Stokes * ''David's New World: The Making of a Sportsman'' (Country Life, 1937) * ''The Pennymakers'' (Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1937) * ''Junk, the Puppy'' (Blackie & Son, 1937) * ''Banjo the Puppy'' (1938) * ''Velvet Nasks'' (Medici Society, 1938), illus. Vernon Stokes * ''To Be A Farmer's Boy'' (Blackie & Son, 1940) * ''Mudlarks'' (Collins, 1940) * ''Mountaineers'' (Collins, 1941) * ''Ducks and Drakes'' (Collins, 1942) * ''The Bob-Tail Pup'' (Collins, 1944) * ''Sand Hoppers'' (Collins, 1946) * ''Getting to Know Dogs'' (Collins, 1947), illus. Vernon Stokes * ''Two and a Bit'' (Collins, 1948) * ''Follow my Leader'' (Collins, 1949) * ''Pets Limited'' (Collins, 1950) ;Historical novels These six books were published by Methuen and the first five were illustrated by Harnett. * ''

The Great House A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...

'' (1949) —set in London and the countryside in the 17th century * ''

'' (1951) —set in the Cotswolds in 1493 * '' Ring Out Bow Bells!'' (1953) —set in London in 1415 * ''Stars of Fortune'' (1956) —set in 1554, about the Washington family, of Sulgrave Manor in Northants, England; and their stars-and-stripes coat of arms; ancestors of George Washington * '' The Load of Unicorn'' (1959) —set in London in 1482 * '' The Writing on the Hearth'' (1971), illus. Gareth Floyd —set in the 1430s In the U.S. these six books were first published as ''The Great House'' (1968), ''Nicholas and the Wool-Pack'' (1953), ''The Drawbridge Gate'' (1953), ''Stars of Fortune'' (1956), ''Caxton's Challenge'' (1960), and ''The Writing on the Hearth'' (1973). At least three were re-titled again in the 1980s. ;Others * ''The Green Popinjay'' (Blackwell, 1955) * ''A Fifteenth-Century Wool Merchant'' (Oxford, 1962) * ''Monasteries & Monks'' (B. T. Batsford, 1963), illus.

Edward Osmond Edward Osmond (6 May 1900 — 1981) was an English artist from the 1920s to 1960s. During this time period, Osmond primarily worked as an illustrator before publishing his first book for children, ''A Valley Grows Up,'' in 1953. The following year, ...

Notes

References

External links

"The Historical Stories of Cynthia Harnett"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harnett, Cynthia 1893 births 1981 deaths Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Artists from London Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Dog writers English children's writers English historical novelists Writers from London Writers who illustrated their own writing Place of death missing Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period

Life

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links