Elizabeth Arnold (children's writer) facts for kids

Susan Elizabeth Arnold (born 15 December 1944) is an English writer. She creates exciting stories for children. Her most famous books are a series of three. They are about Gypsies living in the beautiful New Forest in Southern England.

About Susan Elizabeth Arnold

Susan Elizabeth Arnold was born in Leicester, England. Her family moved many times when she was a child. She was the oldest of five sisters, including triplets! Susan left school at 15. Later, she studied science and technology at the Open University. In 2011, she lived with her husband in Southampton.

Susan's favorite children's book is Alice in Wonderland. She loved it from a very young age. Her father used to read it to her at bedtime.

Writing Adventures: The Gypsy Girl Trilogy

Before becoming a writer, Susan worked as a science technician. She also managed quality control. She started writing The Parsley Parcel, her first novel, because she loved folklore. She first thought of it for adults, not children.

The Parsley Parcel

This book is set among Gypsies in the New Forest. It was chosen for the Beefeater (Whitbread) Children's Book Award in 1995. The book came out in paperback in 1996 and again in 1998. An audio version, read by Nerys Hughes, also came out in 1998.

The Parsley Parcel became a seven-part TV show. It was called Gypsy Girl and aired on ITV in 2001. The main character is Freya. She is a Romany girl with gentle magic powers. Gemma Gregory played Freya on TV. Eleanor Bron played Freya's great-grandmother.

Freya's Special Names

Susan Arnold has explained how she named her character, Freya. In old Romany culture, a child had three names. These were a formal name, a pet name, and a secret name. A mother would whisper the secret name to her child only twice. Once at birth, and once when the child was old enough to remember.

Susan chose Freya as her heroine's formal name. Freya was named after the goddess Freya, born on a Friday. This was important because in The Parsley Parcel, special magic happens on Good Friday. Freya's pet name was Chime. This is because she was a Chime-Child. This means she was a gypsy girl born with special powers to do magic. Her secret name is a secret that only she and Susan share forever!

Completing the Trilogy

The Parsley Parcel was the first book in the Freya, or Gypsy Girl, Trilogy. The other two books that completed the series are Gold and Silver Water and A Riot of Red Ribbon.

Other Books by Susan Arnold

Susan Elizabeth Arnold has written other chapter books. These include The Gold-Spectre and Spin of the Sunwheel. Spin of the Sunwheel was nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 1999. This is a fantasy novel for young adults.

She has also written storybooks for younger children. These include Scraggy Flies High, Thief in the Garden, and The Triple Trouble Gang. Susan also helped with other book projects. She contributed to a book of children's stories that helped tsunami victims. She also edited a book of stories written by children. She provided a story for the book Hipp-O-Dee-Doo-Day. This book helped Children's Hospices UK.