Miriam Ann Hodgson (née Rosenthal, 10 December 1938 – 14 November 2005) was a British editor of children's books. In their obituary, ''

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 ...

'' called her "one of the most successful children's books editors of the last 20 years, and one of the best loved".

Early life

She was born on 10 December 1938 at Denison House, Denison Road,

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, the only daughter of Erwin Isak Jacob Rosenthal (1904–1991), a Hebrew scholar and orientalist, and his wife, Elisabeth Charlotte Rosenthal, née Marx (1907–1996). Her brother was the publisher Tom Rosenthal. She was educated at the

Perse School for Girls The Stephen Perse Foundation is a family of private schools in Cambridge and Saffron Walden for students aged 1 to 18. The Foundation is made up of: - 3 nurseries (2 in Cambridge and 1 in Saffron Walden, Essex) for ages 1–5. - 2 Junior S ...

, Cambridge, followed by

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...

, where she earned a degree in modern history in 1960.

Career

She started her career at the publishers

Ernest Benn Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn, 2nd Baronet, (25 June 1875 – 17 January 1954) was a British publisher, writer and political publicist. His father, John Benn, was a Liberal politician, who had been made a baronet in 1914. He was brother of t ...

(which later became Associated Book Publishers), as an editor of adult books, and it was where she met her husband, Julian Russell Hodgson, then head of the education department. After the birth of her only child, she returned to work part-time as a children's books editor, and in 1986 became editorial director of publishing at Methuen Children's Books. Hodgson edited the work of "many of the best children's writers of her time", including

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, Carlo Gebler,

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, and

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. Hodgson compiled anthologies for teenagers of stories, mostly from authors she edited, including ''Heartache'' (1991), ''Mother's Day'' (1992), ''Mixed Feelings'' (1997), and ''Sisters'' (1998).

Awards

In 1999 she was editor of the year at the

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

, and in 2003 she won the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annually in memory of the c ...

, from the Children's Book Circle, "for outstanding services to children's literature".

Personal life

On 28 November 1969, she married her publishing colleague Julian Russell Hodgson, head of the education department at

, son of the Rev. John Hodgson, at St Pancras Register Office. They had one daughter, Elinor.

Later life

On 14 November 2005, she died of ovarian cancer at

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...

, Tooting, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Miriam Ann 1938 births 2005 deaths 20th-century British women writers Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford People educated at the Perse School for Girls British editors British women editors Deaths from ovarian cancer in England People from Rusholme