John Rowe Townsend facts for kids
John Rowe Townsend (born May 19, 1922 – died March 24, 2014) was a British writer. He wrote many books for children. He also studied and wrote about children's literature.
One of his most famous children's novels is The Intruder. This book won an Edgar Award in 1971. This award is given for great mystery stories.
Townsend also wrote an important book called Written for Children: An Outline of English Children's Literature. This book, first published in 1965, was a key guide to children's books of its time. It was updated several times, covering imaginative writing, poetry, and picture books.
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About John Rowe Townsend
John Rowe Townsend was born in Leeds, England. He went to Leeds Grammar School and later studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
His Popular Books
Townsend wrote many popular books for young readers. His first novel, Gumble's Yard, came out in 1961. Other well-known books include Widdershins Crescent (1965) and The Intruder (1969).
The Intruder won the 1971 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. This award is from the Mystery Writers of America. In Britain, The Intruder was even made into a children's TV series. Milton Johns played the mysterious stranger in the show.
Another one of his books, Noah's Castle, was also made into a TV series. Southern Television filmed it, and it aired in 1980.
His Work as an Editor
Besides writing books, John Rowe Townsend also worked for The Guardian newspaper. He was the editor for their weekly international edition. He also helped choose and edit children's books for the newspaper.
He later married fellow writer Jill Paton Walsh.
Books by John Rowe Townsend
- Gumble's Yard (1961)
- Hell's Edge (1963)
- Widdershins Crescent (1965)
- Written for Children: An Outline of English Children's Literature (1965)
- The Hallersage Sound (1966)
- Pirate's Island (1968)
- The Intruder (1969)
- Trouble in the Jungle (1969)
- Goodbye to Gumble's Yard (1970)
- A Sense of Story (1971); reissued as A Sounding of Storytellers (1979)
- The Summer People (1972)
- Wish for Wings (1972)
- Good-night, Prof, Love (1973)
- Written for Children: An Outline of English-language Children's Literature (1974)
- Forest of the Night (1974)
- Noah's Castle (1975)
- Top of the World (1976)
- The Xanadu Manuscript (1977) (US title: The Visitors)
- Runaways (1979)
- A Sounding of Storytellers (1979)
- King Creature, Come (1980) (US title: The Creatures)
- The Fortunate Isles (1981); reissued as The Golden Journey (1989)
- The Islanders (1981)
- A Foreign Affair (1982) (US title: Kate and the Revolution)
- Clever Dick: The Diary of a Dreadful Child (1982)
- Dan Alone (1983)
- Cloudy-Bright (1984); reissued as Sam and Jenny (1992)
- Fame and Fortune (1984)
- Gone to the Dogs (1984)
- Tom Tiddler's Ground (1985); reissued as The Hidden Treasure (1988)
- The Persuading Stick (1986)
- Downstream (1987)
- Rob's Place (1987)
- Cranford Revisited (1989)
- Cheer and Groan (1989)
- The Invaders (1992) – sequel to The Islanders
