Margaret Biggs (born 1929, Orpington, Kent) is a writer of girls' school stories. She is best known for her Melling School series of books, first published by Blackie in the 1950s. The series is set at a weekly boarding school and is unusual in showing boarding school and home life side by side. The interaction between girls and boys is also atypical of the genre at that time. The Melling series was republished by Girls Gone By Publishers in the 2000s and the reprints, whilst retaining the original text and artwork, have new introductions by Margaret Biggs, who is "taking great pleasure in the republication of her books". Margaret Biggs wrote two new volumes in the series fifty years later, ''Kate at Melling'', set twelve years after the earlier books, and ''Changes at Melling'', which were published by Girls Gone By Publishers in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Biography

Margaret Biggs moved to Hertfordshire in 1935 where she was educated at Queen Elizabeth's School for Girls in Barnet. After leaving school in 1946, Biggs worked in the editorial department of Evans Brothers publishers, where she met Jacqueline Blairman with whom she co-wrote her first school story. Before that, her published writing had consisted of short stories and magazine articles. Margaret Biggs married David Cadney in 1953; they have three children.

Critical response

''The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories'' says that her "world is warm without being too cosy, and realistic without being too harsh". Biggs herself wrote "I felt strongly that girls' traditional school stories needed a bit of a shake-up out of the old mould".

Works

The Melling series

*''The Blakes Come to Melling'', Blackie, 1951. ISBN B0000CI0SM ** Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2004. *''The New Prefect at Melling'', Blackie, 1952. ISBN B0000CI7ZY **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2004. *''Last Term for Helen'', Blackie, 1953. ISBN B0000CIKD0 **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2005. *''The Head Girl at Melling'', Blackie, 1954. ISBN B0000CIT5P **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2005. *''Susan in the Sixth'', Blackie, 1955. ISBN B0000CJ83R **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2007. *''The New Girl at Melling'', Blackie, 1956. **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2006. *''Summer term at Melling'', Blackie, 1957. ISBN B0000CJRRL **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2007. *''Stories of Melling School'', Blackie, 1960. (Containing: ''The Blakes come to Melling'', ''The New Prefect at Melling'', and, ''Last Term for Helen'') *''More stories of Melling School'', Blackie, 1961. ISBN B0000CKXIN (Containing: ''The Head Girl at Melling'', ''Susan in the Sixth'', and, ''Summer Term at Melling)'' *''Kate at Melling'', Girls Gone By Publishers, 2008. *''Changes at Melling'', Girls Gone By Publishers, 2009.

Other titles

*''Triplets at Royders'' (with Jacqueline Blairman), Sampson Low, 1950? *''Christmas term at Vernley'', Blackie, 1951 **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2012. *''Bobby at Hill House'', Warne, 1954 **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2014. *''Dilly goes to Ambergate'', Blackie, 1955 **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2011. *''The Two Families'', Blackie, 1958 **Republ. by Girls Gone By Publishers, 2010.

Short stories

*"Mary's New Friend" in ''A Book of Girls' Stories'', Golden Pleasure Books, 1964 *"Lucinda's Long Afternoon" and "Pip and the Famous Author" in ''Girls' Choice: A New Book of Stories'', Hamlyn, 1965