Henrietta Diana Primrose Longstaff Branford (12 January 1946 – 23 April 1999) was an English author 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 ...

. Her greatest success was '' Fire, Bed and Bone'' (1997), a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

set during the English peasants' revolt of 1381. For that she won the

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annually recognised one fiction book written for Children's literature, children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conf ...

, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers, and she was a highly commended runner up for 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 ...

Biography

Branford was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and raised in an isolated part of

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

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, ...

, where she learned about animals and learned to ride a horse. After living in many other places she moved to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1980 with her husband Paul Carter, a photographer, and their three children Jack, Rose and Polly. Branford had a variety of jobs: as a nanny, in shops, hotels and offices, and for a charity helping elderly people in South

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She trained as a community and youth worker at

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

from 1970 to 1972 but didn't enjoy it. She started writing as a career when she was 40 and in the thirteen years before her death she wrote 25 books for children from toddlers to teens. Her first novel was ''Royal Blunder''. '' The Fated Sky'' and '' Fire, Bed and Bone'' are two notable others. Branford was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in December 1997. Subsequently, she endured

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

and three operations but her cancer was too vigorous to be treated effectively. She died at home in

on 23 April 1999.

Legacy

After her death, two annual awards were created by

Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare MBE (born 1951) is a British journalist and writer on the subject of children's books. She was Children's Books editor for ''The Guardian'' newspaper for more than ten years, at least from 2000, until 2016. She is also an edito ...

(Children's Book Editor at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'') and Anne Marley (head of Children's, Youth & Schools Services for Hampshire Library & Information Service). The

Branford Boase Award The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist." The award is s ...

for first time writers commemorates both Branford and her editor Wendy Boase who also died of cancer in 1999. The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for children was conceived by Branford who did not have time to establish it.

Selected works

* ''Royal Blunder'' (1990) * ''Royal Blunder and the Haunted House'' (1990) * ''Clare's Summer'' (1993) * ''Dimanche Diller'' (1994) * ''Dimanche Diller in Danger'' (1994) * ''Someone Somewhere'' (1995) * ''The Theft of Thor's Hammer'' (1995) * ''Nightmare Neighbours'' (1995) * ''Dimanche Diller at Sea'' (1996) * ''Spacebaby'' (1996) * '' The Fated Sky'' (1996) * '' Fire, Bed, and Bone'' (1997) * ''Chance of Safety'' (1998) * ''Myths and Legends'' (1998) * ''White Wolf'' (1998) * ''Prospers Mountain'' (1999) * ''Dipper's Island'' (1999) * ''Ruby Red '' (1999) * ''Little Pig Figwort'' (2000 posthumously)

Notes

References

External links

Henrietta Branford homepage

Henrietta Branford at Walker Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branford, Henrietta Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London English children's writers Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners People from New Forest District English women historical novelists Writers from Hampshire Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages 1946 births 1999 deaths