Sheila Philip Cochrane Burnford née Every (11 May 1918 – 20 April 1984) was a Scottish writer. She is best known for her novel

The Incredible Journey ''The Incredible Journey'' (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved ...

about two dogs and a cat traveling through the Canadian wilderness.

Life and work

Born in Scotland and brought up in various parts of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, she attended St. George's School, Edinburgh, and Harrogate Ladies College. She also attended schools in France and Germany. In 1941 she married Dr.

David Burnford David Wreyford Burnford (6 January 1915 – 10 June 1984) was a British medical doctor and rower who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Life Burnford was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. In 1935 he partnered Thomas Cree to win Sil ...

, with whom she had three children. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, she worked as a volunteer ambulance driver. In 1951 she emigrated to Canada, settling in

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William, Ontario, Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been ...

. Burnford is best remembered for ''

'', published by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publishe ...

with illustrations by

Carl Burger Carl V. Burger (June 18, 1888 – December 30, 1967) was an American "artist and writer of children’s books about animals and natural history." He is known for his children's and youth literature illustrations of ''The Incredible Journey'' by S ...

in 1960. The story of three animal pets traveling in the wilderness won the

Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award The Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award is a literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian children's book. The book must be written in English and published in Canada during the preceding year (and nominated b ...

in 1963 and the ALA Aurianne Award in 1963 as the best book on animal life written for children ages 8–14. It is marketed for children but Burnford has stated that it was not intended as a children's book. It was a modest success commercially and became a bestseller after release of the 1963 Disney film, ''

'' (which was remade in 1993 as '' Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey''). Another book, ''Bel Ria'', about a dog's survival in wartime, was based on her own experiences as an ambulance driver. Burnford later wrote other books on Canadian topics, including ''One Woman's Arctic'' (

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

) about her two summers in Pond Inlet, Nunavut on

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadi ...

with Susan Ross. She traveled by komatik, a traditional

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and t ...

, assisted in

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

excavation, having to thaw the land inch by inch, ate everything offered to her, and saw the migration of the narwhals. She died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

in the village of

Bucklers Hard Buckler's Hard is a hamlet on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire. With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Buckler's Hard is part of the Beaulieu Estate. The hamlet is some south of the village of ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

at the age of 65.

Works

* ''

'', illustrated by

(Toronto and London: Hodder & Stoughton; Boston: Little, Brown, 1961); also published as ''Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey'' or ''Homeward Bound'' * ''The Fields of Noon'' (1964) * ''Without Reserve: Among the Northern Forest Indians'' (1969), illus. Susan Ross * ''One Woman's Arctic'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1972) * ''Mr. Noah and the Second Flood'', illus. Michael Foreman (1973) * ''Bel Ria'' (1977); also published as ''Bel Ria: Dog of War''

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

and

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

library records do not clearly show any other works published as books (six, as of 2018). WorldCat records show four of Burnford's books published in the US as

Atlantic Monthly Press Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "A ...

books, then an imprint of Little, Brown.

References

* W. H. New, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002: 166.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnford, Sheila 1918 births 1984 deaths People educated at St George's School, Edinburgh English women novelists Deaths from cancer in England People educated at Harrogate Ladies' College 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists

Life and work

Works

See also

References

External links