Helen Cresswell (11 July 1934 – 26 September 2005) was an English television

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

and author of more than 100

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

, best known for comedy and

supernatural fiction Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that exploits or is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting naturalist assumptions of the real world. Description In its broadest definition, supe ...

. Her most popular book series, ''

Lizzie Dripping ''Lizzie Dripping'' (released in its second year under the title ''Lizzie Dripping Again'') is a British television children's programme produced by the BBC in 1973 and 1974 (the second series was broadcast in 1975). It was written by Helen Cress ...

'' and ''

The Bagthorpe Saga The Bagthorpe Saga is a series of 10 novels by Helen Cresswell published between 1977 and 2001 winning two International Reading Association awards published in the UK and the United States by Faber and Faber. The first two novels formed the basi ...

'', were also the basis for television series. Cresswell's TV work included

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of her own books for television movies and series: ''Lizzie Dripping'' (two series, 1973–75), ''Jumbo Spencer'' (1976), ''The Secret World of Polly Flint'' (1987), and '' Moondial'' (1988). Works by others that she adapted for TV include ''The Haunted School'', ''Five Children and It'' (1991, from the 1902 novel), ''

The Phoenix and the Carpet ''The Phoenix and the Carpet'' is a fantasy novel for children, written by E. Nesbit and first published in 1904. It is the second in a trilogy of novels that begins with '' Five Children and It'' (1902), and follows the adventures of the sam ...

'' (1997), ''

The Famous Five ''The Famous Five'' is a series of children's Adventure fiction, adventure novels and short stories written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, ''Five on a Treasure Island'', was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures ...

'' (1995–96), and ''

The Demon Headmaster ''The Demon Headmaster'' is a series of books by Gillian Cross which were later adapted as a television series starring Terrence Hardiman in the title role and Frances Amey as Dinah. The title character is a strange being with the powers of hy ...

'' (1996–98).

Life

Cresswell was born in

Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. The Head Offices of Ashfield Distr ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. Her mother arranged Greek-language instruction for her daughter at age 12, when she was hospitalized one year with spinal problems. She was educated at Nottingham High School for Girls, and at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where she graduated in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. Cresswell and her childhood sweetheart Brian Rowe (married 1962, dissolved 1995) had two children. On 26 September 2005, she died in her home in

Eakring Eakring is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. Its population at the 2011 Census was 419. There was sizeable oil production there in the mid-20th century. Geography The village lies between ...

, Nottinghamshire, aged 71, from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

Writer

Cresswell had great "popular impact" because she "diversified into writing for television, in 1960, with a script for what was then called ''Jack Playhouse'', bringing simple storytelling to BBC children's TV." She tried writing for adults but succeeded with the child audience. Her first book was published in 1960, ''Sonya-by-the-Shore'', and the Jumbo Spencer series followed. Yet she considered herself a poet until ''The Piemakers'' (Faber, 1967) won both "success with young readers" and approval from critics. It was a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal from 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 ...

, 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 ...

. She was one of three or four runners-up for the Carnegie Medal on three later occasions: namely, for ''The Night Watchmen'' (1969), ''Up the Pier'' (1971), and ''The Bongleweed'' (1973). In 1989, she won the

Phoenix Award The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the ...

from the

Children's Literature Association The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman- ...

, recognising ''The Night Watchmen'' (Faber, 1969) as the best children's book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award. Although the "Demon Headmaster" TV series (1996–1998) was a success, her "star waned" as the BBC "turned to the tougher damaged heroines of

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

, typified by Tracy Beaker, resident of The Dumping Ground." (Wilson introduced Beaker in 1991 and "The Story of Tracy Beaker" on television ran from 2002 to 2006.) Her daughter, Caroline, believed that ''Winter of the Birds'' (1976) had been her mother's own favourite work. Cresswell once explained, "I write a title, then set out to find where that particular road will take me", and Caroline recalled, "Mum never plotted her books, she just wrote." The BBC aired a six-part TV series, ''Five Children and It'' (1991), using Cresswell's adaptation of the 1902 novel by E. Nesbit. Next year Cresswell's print

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

was published, ''The Return of the Psammead'' (BBC Books, 1992), which was the basis for a TV sequel of the same name in 1993. She also adapted the second book in Nesbit's trilogy, ''

'' (1904), for a television serial transmitted in 1997.

Selected works

* ''Sonya-by-the-Shore'' (1960), her first children's book *''The White Sea Horse'' (1964) *''Pietro and the Mule'' (1965) *''Where the Wind Blows'' (1966) *''The Piemakers'', illus. V. H. Drummond (Faber, 1967) *''The Signposters'' (1968) *''The Sea Piper'' (1968) *''The Night Watchmen'', illus. Gareth Floyd (Faber, 1969) *''The Outlanders'' (1970) *''At the Stroke of Midnight'' (1971) *''Up the Pier'' (1972) *''The Beachcombers'' (1972) *''The Bongleweed'' (1973) *''Cheap Day Return'' (1974) *''White Sea Horse and Other Sea Magic'' (1975) *''The Winter of the Birds'' (1976) *''A Game of Catch'' with Ati Forberg (1977) *''My Aunt Polly'' (1979) *''Dear Shrink'' (1982) *''The Secret World of Polly Flint'' (1982) *''Moondial'' (1987) *''Ellie and the Hagwitch'' (1987) *''Dragon Ride'' (1987) *''Trouble'' (1988) *''Time Out'' with Peter Elwell (1990) *''Weather Cat'' (1990) *''The Return of the Psammead'' (1992), a sequel to the Five Children books by E. Nesbit *''Almost Goodbye, Guzzler'' with Judy Brown (1992) *''The Watchers: A Mystery At Alton Towers'' (1993) *''Classic Fairy Tales'' (1994), retelling traditional

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

*''Stonestruck'' (1996) *''Snatchers'' (1997) *''Sophie and the Sea Wolf'' (1997) *''The Little Sea Pony'' (1997 ) *''The Little Sea Horse'' (1998) *''The Little Grey Donkey'' (1999) *''Mystery Stories'' (2003) *''Rumpelstiltskin'' (2004), retelling the Brothers Grimm fairy tale

Lizzie Dripping stories

*''

'' (1973) *''Lizzie Dripping by the Sea'' (1974) *''Lizzie Dripping and the Little Angel'' (1974) *''Lizzie Dripping and the Witch'' (1974) *''Lizzie Dripping on Holiday'' (1994)

Posy Bates stories

*''Meet Posy Bates'' (1992) *''Posy Bates and the Bag Lady'' (1994) *''Posy Bates, Again!'' (1994)

Two Hoots series

The series was illustrated by Martine Blanc and published by Ernest Benn Limited. *''Two Hoots'' (1974) (with ) *''Two Hoots go to the sea'' (1974) *''Two Hoots in the Snow'' (1975) *''Two Hoots and the Big Bad Bird'' (1975) *''Two Hoots Play Hide-And Seek'' (1977) *''Two Hoots and the King'' (1977)

Winklesea series

*''A Gift from Winklesea'' (1971) *''Whatever Happened in Winklesea?'' (1991) *''Mystery at Winklesea'' (1995)

Bagthorpe Saga

* '' Ordinary Jack'' (1977) * ''

Absolute Zero Absolute zero is the lowest limit of the thermodynamic temperature scale, a state at which the enthalpy and entropy of a cooled ideal gas reach their minimum value, taken as zero kelvin. The fundamental particles of nature have minimum vibration ...

'' (1978) * '' Bagthorpes Unlimited'' (1978) * ''Bagthorpes Versus The World'' (1979) * '' Bagthorpes Abroad'' (1984) * ''Bagthorpes Haunted'' (1985) * ''Bagthorpes Liberated'' (1989) * ''The Bagthorpe Triangle'' (1992) * ''Bagthorpes Besieged'' (1997) * ''Bagthorpes Battered'' (2001)

Notes

References

: ''Some old citations are inaccessible 2012-08-23.''

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cresswell, Helen English children's writers English television writers British women television writers Alumni of King's College London People from Kirkby-in-Ashfield People educated at Nottingham Girls' High School 1934 births 2005 deaths Deaths from ovarian cancer Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century English screenwriters