Norman George Lorimer Hunter (23 November 1899 – 23 February 1995) was a British writer of children's literature. He is particularly known for creating the Professor Branestawm book series.

Early life

Hunter was born in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

, England, on 23 November 1899. He attended Beckenham County School for Boys (later known as Beckenham and Penge Grammar School and then Langley Park School for Boys). He had three siblings, Edith Mira Hunter, Gladys Minnie Hunter and Cyril Joseph Hunter. His father died when he was 9 and his brother, Cyril was killed in the First World War in Flanders, France. Hunter left school to volunteer for service in the London Irish Rifles in 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 ...

. He was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service.

Career

After the First World War Hunter became an advertising copywriter. In the 1930s he performed as a stage magician in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

and in the London Magic Theatre of John Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant. He was also a member of The Magic Circle. Hunter wrote popular books on writing for advertising, brain-teasers and conjuring, among many other topics, but his best-known works were about the character Professor Branestawm, originally written for radio. The first book, ''The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm'', was published in hardback in 1933 with illustrations by W. Heath Robinson; the second, ''Professor Branestawm's Treasure Hunt'' in 1937 with drawings by James Arnold.

George Adamson George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a British wildlife conservationist and author based in Kenya. His wife Joy Adamson related in h ...

illustrated the reissue of ''Professor Branestawm's Treasure Hunt'' in 1966, and when Norman Hunter brought out his third book in the series in 1970 after a gap of more than thirty years, Adamson provided the illustrations. Two further Professor Branestawm titles were then published with Adamson's drawings. Other artists were to provide illustrations for later books in the series: Gerald Rose; David Hughes; Jill McDonald, and Derek Cousins. Many of the books were reissued in

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 ...

, ''The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm'' under Eleanor Graham's editorship in 1946, and many others under

Kaye Webb Kathleen ("Kaye") Webb (26 January 1914 – 16 January 1996), was a British editor and publisher. She has been called an "enormously influential children's editor" and "brilliant as an innovator of highly successful marketing strategies". S ...

's in the 1960s and 1970s. Having worked as an advertising manager for a Department Store in Bournemouth, Hunter returned to London during the

Second World War 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 ...

and worked for the Advertising Agency, S.H. Benson as a copywriter. In 1949 he emigrated to South Africa on the Cape Town Castle. He was employed as chief copywriter for P.N. Barrett & Co from 1949 to 1959 and then Central Advertising from 1959 to 1970, both in Johannesburg. After his retirement in 1970, he once again returned to Staines, London, where

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

had just produced an eight-part TV series, ''Professor Branestawm''. He continued writing in his retirement, up until the age of 86 and his last book was published in 1983.

Personal life

Norman Hunter married Sylvia Maria Rangel in 1923 in Edmonton, London and they had three children. In about 1934 the family moved to Dorset and lived in various homes in and around

. The family then moved to London during the

at the beginning of

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. Hunter and his family, together with their Bullmastiff called Midas, ended up living in a single room in Amersham. They relocated to

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, we ...

in Buckinghamshire, and then to

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, Kent to avoid the bombings. During their stay in Bromley, known as “Bomb Alley” the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

and

V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...

, started coming from Germany aimed at London. However, they sometimes fell short and crashed in Kent. One night a V-1 landed in the Bromley shopping area. The blast fanned outward and did a lot of damage, including to the side of the family's rented house. As there was a shortage of accommodation at the end of the Second World War, Hunter lived on a boat on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

with his family. In 1949 the family emigrated to South Africa. Hunter was 49 at the time. He lived in South Africa until his retirement when he returned with his wife, Sylvia to England. They lived in Staines, London where Hunter continued to write children’s books and work on a model theatre, a replica of the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

. This model theatre is now housed at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection. Hunter was also a member of the Savage Club. His wife died in 1982 and he continued to live in Staines until his death on 23 February 1995.

Works

(Complete): * ''Simplified Conjuring for All: a collection of new tricks needing no special skill or apparatus for their performance with suitable patter'', C. Arthur Pearson (1923), new edition published by Hamlyn (1999) * ''Advertising Through the Press: a guide to press publicity'', Sir I. Pitman & Sons (1925) * ''New and Easy Magic : a further series of novel magical experiments needing no special skill or apparatus for their performance with suitable patter'', C. Arthur Pearson (1925) * ''Hey Presto: A Book of Effects for Conjurers'', Edward Bagshawe (1931) * ''The Bad Barons of Crashbania: Vol. 42, Continuous Stories, Jolly Books'' (Blackwell, 1932), illustrated by Eve Garnett * ''The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm'', John Lane, The Bodley Head (1933), first appeared in ''The Merry-Go-Round'' (April to October 1929 - 5 issues), Basil Blackwell (1929); Penguin Books, Puffin Books (1946; 1969; 1973); The Bodley Head (1965; 1988); Penguin Red Fox (2008; 2011); Penguin Random House, Vintage Children's Classics (2013), illustrated by W. Heath Robinson * ''New Conjuring without Skill'', The Bodley Head (1935) * ''Professor Branestawm's Treasure Hunt'', John Lane, The Bodley Head (1937); Puffin Books (1966), illustrated by

* ''Larky Legends'' (1938), republished as ''The Dribblesome Teapots and Other Incredible Stories'', The Bodley Head (1969) * ''Successful Conjuring for Amateurs'', Pearson (1951) * ''The Puffin Book of Magic'', Puffin Books (1968; 1970; 1973), illustrated by Jill McDonald, republished as ''Norman Hunter's Book of Magic'', The Bodley Head (1974) * ''Magic tricks'', Penguin Books, Puffin Books (1968; 1972), illustrated by Jill McDonald, formerly T''he Puffin Book of Magic'', Puffin Books (1968) * ''The Dribblesome Teapots and Other Incredible Stories'', The Bodley Head (1969); Puffin Books (1971); Penguin Red Fox Classics (2013), illustrated by Fritz Wegner * ''The Peculiar Triumph of Professor Branestawm'', The Bodley Head (1970); Puffin Books (1970); Penguin Red Fox (2012), illustrated by

* ''The Home Made Dragon'', The Bodley Head (1971), illustrated by Fritz Wegner * ''Professor Branestawm Up the Pole'', The Bodley Head (1972); Puffin Books (1972), illustrated by

* ''Professor Branestawm's Dictionary'', The Bodley Head (1973), illustrated by Derek Cousins * ''Professor Branestawm's Dictionary'', Puffin Books (1974), illustrated by Derek Cousins, with cover by

* ''The Frantic Phantom and Other Incredible Stories'', Random House (1973); Puffin Books (1976), illustrated by Geraldine Spence * ''Wizards Are A Nuisance'', BBC Books (1973), illustrated by

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his l ...

* ''Norman Hunter's Book of magic'', The Bodley Head (1974), illustrated by Jill McDonald * ''Professor Branestawm's Great Revolution'', The Bodley Head (1974), illustrated by David Hughes; Puffin (1977), illustrated by

* ''The Home-made Dragon and Other Incredible Stories'', Puffin Books (1974), illustrated by Fritz Wegner * ''Long Live Their Majesties'', Blackie and Son Limited (1975), illustrated by Sara Silcock * ''Dust up at the Royal Disco: and Other Stories'', Puffin / Penguin (1975; 1978), illustrated by Fritz Wegner * ''Professor Branestawm's Do-It-Yourself Handbook'', The Bodley Head (1976) ; Puffin (1979) , illustrated by Jill McDonald * ''Professor Branestawm's Compendium of Conundrums, Riddles, Puzzles, Brain Twiddlers and Dotty Descriptions'', The Bodley Head (1975); Puffin Books (1977), illustrated by Derek Cousins * ''Professor Branestawm Round the Bend'', The Bodley Head (1977); Puffin Books (1980), illustrated by Derek Cousins * ''Vanishing Ladies, and Other Magic'', The Bodley Head (1978) , illustrated by Jill McDonald * ''Count Bakwerdz on the Carpet'', The Bodley Head (1979); Puffin Books (1982), illustrated by Babette Cole. * ''Professor Branestawm's Perilous Pudding'', The Bodley Head (1979); Puffin Books (1983), illustrated by Derek Cousins * ''The Best of Branestawm'', The Bodley Head (1980), illustrated by

, Derek Cousins, W. Heath Robinson and Jill McDonald * ''Sneeze and Be Slain and Other Incredible Stories'', The Bodley Head (1980), illustrated by Babette Cole * ''Professor Branestawm and the Wild Letters'', The Bodley Head (1981), illustrated by Gerald Rose * ''Professor Branestawm's Pocket Motor Car'', The Bodley Head (1981), combined edition of Professor Branestawm's Pocket Motor Car & Professor Branestawm And the Wild Letters, Penguin Random House / Puffin Books (1982), illustrated by Gerald Rose *'' Professor Branestawm's Mouse War'', The Bodley Head (1982); Penguin (Young Puffin Books) (1984), illustrated by Gerald Rose * ''Professor Branestawm's Building Bust-Up'', The Bodley Head (1982), illustrated by Gerald Rose * ''Professor Branestawm's Crunchy Crockery'', The Bodley Head (1983) combined edition of Professor Branestawm's Crunchy Crockery And Professor Branestawm's HairRaising Idea (Young Puffin Read Alone Series), Puffin Books (1994), illustrated by Gerald Rose * ''Professor Branestawm's Hair-Raising Idea'', The Bodley Head (1983), illustrated by Gerald Rose * ''Professor Branestawm Stories'', Penguin Red Fox (2000; 2017), illustrated by W. Heath Robinson and others

Adaptations

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 ...

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

read ' The Dribblesome Teapots' . Broadcast: Mon., 20th Nov.1978, BBC One.

References

External links

BBC-H2G2

* * (previous page of browse report, under 'Unter, Norman, 1899–' without '1995') {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Norman 1899 births 1995 deaths British children's writers People from Sydenham, London Military personnel from the London Borough of Lewisham British Army personnel of World War I London Irish Rifles soldiers Territorial Force soldiers Writers from the London Borough of Lewisham