Rosemary Jeanne Harris (20 February 1923 – 14 October 2019) was a British author of children's fiction. She won the 1968 Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Harris was born in London in February 1923, the daughter of Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris and his wife, Barbara Daisy Kyrle Money. She attended school in Weymouth, and then studied at the

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

, the

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 ...

and the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

. She served in the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

Nursing Auxiliary Westminster Division during

World War II 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 subsequently worked as a picture restorer and as a reader for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. From 1970 to 1973 she reviewed children's books for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. For '' The Moon in the Cloud'', published by Faber in 1968, Harris won the annual 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 ...

. ''The Moon'' was the first volume of a trilogy set in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, followed by ''The Shadow on the Sun'' (1970) and ''The Bright and Morning Star'' (1972). The book was also the basis for a 1978 episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series ''

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 ...

''. Harris died on 14 October 2019, at the age of 96. Rosemary Harris death notice]

Selected works

;Egypt series * '' The Moon in the Cloud'' (Faber, 1968) * ''The Shadow on the Sun'' (Faber, 1970) * ''The Bright and Morning Star'' (Faber, 1972) ;Orion series * ''A Quest for Orion'' (1978) * ''Tower of the Stars'' (1980) ;Other * ''The Summer-house'' (

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

, 1956) * ''Venus with Sparrows'' (

Faber Faber may refer to: People * Faber (surname) Companies * Faber & Faber, publishing house in the United Kingdom * Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments * Faber Music, British sheet music publisher * Eberhard Faber, German ...

, 1961) * ''All My Enemies'' (Faber, 1967) * ''The Nice Girl's Story'' (Faber, 1968); U.S. title, ''Nor Evil Dreams'' * ''A Wicked Pack of Cards'' (Faber, 1969) * ''The Seal-Singing'' (Faber, 1971) * ''The Child in the Bamboo Grove'' (Faber, 1971), illustrated by

Errol Le Cain Errol John Le Cain (5 March 1941 – 3 January 1989) was a British-Singaporean animator and children's book illustrator. In 1984 he won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for "distinguished illustration in a book for children" for ''Hiawatha ...

* ''King's White Elephant'' (1973) * ''The Double-Snare'' (Faber, 1974) * ''Sea Magic and Other Stories of Enchantment'' (1974) * ''Flying Ship'' (1975) * ''Little Dog of Fo'', illus. Errol Le Cain (1976) * ''I Want to Be a Fish'' (1977) * ''Beauty and the Beast'', illus. Errol Le Cain (1979) * ''Zed'' (1982) * ''Janni's Stork'' (1984) * ''The Lotus and the Grail: Legends from East to West'' (1985) * ''Summers of the Wild Rose'' (1987) * ''Love and the Merrygoround'' (1988) * ''Ticket to Freedom'' (1992) * ''Haunting of Joey Mbasa'' (1996)

References

External links

*
Review of ''A Quest for Orion'' by Rosemary Harris
* : WARNING: WorldCat conflates three distinct authors named Rosemary Harris; GND conflates two. See the article header. (2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Rosemary Jeanne 1923 births 2019 deaths Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art British children's writers British fantasy writers Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Daughters of baronets Writers from London 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers