Antonia Forest (26 May 1915 – 28 November 2003) was the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

writer of

children's novels Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. She is known for the Marlow series.

Life

Forest was born to part Russian-Jewish and Irish parents on 26 May 1915. She grew up in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London, and was educated at

South Hampstead High School ) , established = as St. Johns Wood School , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

and

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, where she studied journalism. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she worked at an Army Pay Office.Heazlewood, Anne, ''The Marlows and Their Maker'',

Girls Gone By Publishers Girls Gone By Publishers is a publishing company run by Clarissa Cridland and Ann Mackie-Hunter and is based in Coleford, Somerset. They re-publish new editions of some of the most popular girls' fiction titles from the twentieth century. Elino ...

, 2007. From 1938 until her death, Forest lived in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. By the end of 1946, she was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Eventually, she called herself "middle-aged, narrow-minded, anti-progressive and proud of it". Forest was a prolific letter writer, frequently corresponding with her readers and literary figures such as GB Stern. She never married and, for many years, supported herself by renting out part of her house in Bournemouth.

Marlow series

Forest is known for the Marlow series of novels featuring one contemporary generation of the Marlows, an ancient landed family whose patriarch is a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

commander (later captain). Among eight children, all six daughters go to Kingscote, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

where the four books named after school "Terms" are set. :‡ "Twins' Form" refers to the school stages of twins Nicola and Lawrie. The Marlows' world is unusually fully described. The school stories feature the talented protagonists' wide-ranging interests and the strengths and weaknesses of members of their circle. Forest's books were later noted for their technique in

Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Life Richmal Crompton Lambu ...

's 1965 story ''William and the Pop Singers'': placing characters created in an earlier age, and still are essentially tied to that past time, in a different world several decades later. The same characters who initially recount their childhood experiences of the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

watch ''

Up Pompeii! ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and S ...

'' and make themselves up as punks when they are a few years older. The 1976 book ''The Attic Term'' is notable for its use of the teenage character Patrick Merrick to express Forest's opposition to changes in Roman Catholicism after the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. Forest indicated she was working on a successor to ''Run Away Home'', but no manuscript was found among her papers after her death in 2003. Forest also wrote ''The Player's Boy'' (1970) and ''The Players and the Rebels'' (1971) about the Marlows' ancestors in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's time.

Reception

''The Thursday Kidnapping'' (1963) was Forest's only book not about the Marlows and the only one published in the U.S. It was a commended runner-up for the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

's Carnegie Medal for 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 ...

. Two modern Marlows books were also commended runners-up, ''Falconer's Lure'' for 1957 and ''Peter's Room'' for 1961. Forest's books have received critical praise from

Victor Watson Victor Hugo Watson (26 September 1928 – 25 February 2015) was a British businessman and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Waddingtons 1977 to 1993. Waddingtons employed over 3,000 people, mainly in Leeds, and were involved in ...

, who called her 'the Jane Austen' of children's literature, and from Alison Shell, who has studied Forest's theme of

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

Catholicism. They featured in

Lucy Mangan Lucy Katherine Mangan''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian''. A major part of her writing is related t ...

's 2012 memoir of favourite childhood reading; she chose the first Marlow book as one of her top picks for a children's library, saying of the series: 'they are dense and complex books, but among the most fulfilling reads I think a child can have. When I first came across

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

's adage, "I read to know that I am not alone", it was the Marlows I thought of'.

Reissues

Years after Forest's books went out of print, they gradually returned to the public eye with a Faber reprint of ''Autumn Term'' in 2000. It was followed by

reprints of ''Falconer's Lure'', ''Run Away Home'', ''The Marlows and the Traitor'', ''The Ready-Made Family'', ''Peter's Room'', and ''The Thuggery Affair''. Girls Gone By reprinted ''The Player's Boy'' in 2006, ''The Players and the Rebels'' in 2008, and ''The Thursday Kidnapping'' in 2009. Since reacquiring the copyright of all Forest's books apart from ''Autumn Term'', Girls Gone By also published new editions of ''End of Term'' (2017) and ''The Cricket Term'' (2020). They also reprinted ''The Marlows and the Traitor'' (2015), ''Falconer's Lure'' (2016), ''Peter's Room'' (2018), and ''The Thuggery Affair'' (2019). In 2011, Girls Gone By published ''Spring Term'', a continuation of the modern Marlow saga by Sally Hayward.Hayward, Sally ''Spring Term'' Girls Gone By: 2011

Notes

References

External links

Hilary Clare (2006), "School Stories Don't Count: The Neglected Genius of Antonia Forest"
in Pat Pinsent (ed.) ''Out of the Attic''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest, Antonia 1915 births 2003 deaths English children's writers English Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism English people of Russian-Jewish descent English people of Irish descent Alumni of University College London People educated at South Hampstead High School People from Hampstead Writers from Bournemouth 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers Place of birth missing Place of death missing English women novelists British women children's writers Writers from London