Leon Garfield facts for kids

Leon Garfield (born July 14, 1921 – died June 2, 1996) was a British writer. He is best known for his exciting historical novels written for children. He also wrote books for adults. Garfield wrote over thirty books and even helped create the TV series Shakespeare: The Animated Tales.

Leon Garfield's Life Story

His Early Life and Studies

Leon Garfield went to Brighton Grammar School from 1932 to 1938. After that, he studied art at Regent Street Polytechnic. However, he had to stop his studies. First, he ran out of money for fees. Then, World War II began, which changed many people's plans.

During the war, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While serving in Belgium, he met Vivien Alcock. She was an ambulance driver. Vivien later became his second wife in 1948. She was also a well-known children's author. Vivien greatly helped Garfield with his writing. She gave him ideas, including the first idea for his book Smith.

Becoming a Full-Time Writer

After the war, Garfield worked as a lab technician. He worked at the Whittington Hospital in Islington. He wrote books in his free time. By the 1960s, his books were so popular that he could write full-time.

In 1964, Leon and Vivien adopted a baby girl. They named her Jane, after the famous writer Jane Austen. Jane Austen was a favorite author for both parents.

How His Books Began

Garfield's first book was a pirate novel called Jack Holborn. He wrote it for adults. But an editor at Constable & Co. saw its potential for younger readers. The editor convinced Garfield to change it for children. It was published in 1964.

His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won an important award called the Guardian Prize. This book, and many others, were later made into TV shows. Devil-in-the-Fog was one of many historical adventure stories he wrote. These stories usually took place in the late 1700s. They often featured a main character from a simple background. This character would get caught up in a dangerous mystery.

Another famous book is Smith (1967). In this story, a young pickpocket named Smith is taken in by a rich family. It won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Black Jack (1968) is another adventure. It tells the story of a young apprentice. He is forced to travel with a dangerous criminal.

New Directions in His Writing

In 1970, Garfield started writing different kinds of stories. He wrote The God Beneath the Sea with Edward Blishen. This book retold many Greek myths in one big story. It won the Carnegie Medal, a top award for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and the illustrator Charles Keeping worked together again. They created a sequel called The Golden Shadow (1973).

The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure. But it focused more on a difficult moral problem. It seemed to be for slightly older readers. This trend continued with books like The Prisoners of September (1975) and The Confidence Man (1978).

The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) is a funny, dark comedy. Two boys try to test an old story about Romulus and Remus. They use one of the boys' baby sisters for their experiment!

A notable series of stories was The Apprentices (1978). These were linked short stories about young apprentices. Garfield also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This was a book that Charles Dickens left unfinished when he died in 1870. Dickens was a big influence on Garfield's writing style.

Leon Garfield was chosen as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. He passed away from cancer on June 2, 1996, at the Whittington Hospital. This was the same hospital where he once worked.

What Inspired His Writing?

Garfield's novels for children always have historical settings. His early books are mostly set in the late 1700s. Later, books like John Diamond are set in the 1800s. His stories are not usually about big historical events. Instead, they focus on the personal adventures of his characters.

His books were greatly influenced by famous authors like Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson's Treasure Island clearly inspired Jack Holborn. That book has characters who change sides while searching for treasure. Garfield also said that the brothers in Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae inspired him.

Garfield often wrote about a quiet hero who teams up with a stronger character. This stronger character might not follow all the usual rules. Another common story in his books, like Smith and The December Rose, is about an outsider who finds a welcoming home. This idea comes more from Dickens. Garfield also liked to set his stories in cities, especially London, just like Dickens.

His Books on Screen

Many of Leon Garfield's books have been made into films or TV shows:

• Devil-in-the-Fog became a TV series in 1968.
• Smith was televised in 1970.
• The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris was a 6-part BBC series in 1979.
• Black Jack was made into a movie by Ken Loach in 1979.
• John Diamond became a BBC TV series in 1981.
• Jack Holborn was made into a German Christmas mini-series in 1982.
• The Ghost Downstairs was televised in 1982.
• "Mr Corbett's Ghost" became a TV film in 1987.

Garfield also wrote the script for the 1986 TV series The December Rose. He later turned it into a novel. He also wrote the scripts for Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992 and 1994). These were popular animated versions of Shakespeare's plays. For this work, he won the 1995 Sam Wanamaker Award.

Awards and Recognition

Leon Garfield won several important awards for his children's books:

• Guardian Children's Fiction Prize: Devil-in-the-Fog (1966) won the very first Guardian Prize in 1967. This award celebrates a new British children's novel each year.
• Carnegie Medal: The God Beneath the Sea (1970) won the annual Carnegie Medal. This award recognizes the best children's book by a British author. Garfield was also a runner-up for the Carnegie Medal three times. These were for Smith, Black Jack, and Drummer Boy.
• Whitbread Literary Award: John Diamond (1980) won the Whitbread Literary Award for Children's Novel in 1980. This award looks for books that are enjoyable to read and have great literary quality.
• Phoenix Award: Smith won the Phoenix Award in 1987. This award is given to the best English-language children's book that didn't win a major award when it was first published.

List of His Books

‡ The God Beneath the Sea (1970) and The Golden Shadow (1973) were written by Garfield and Edward Blishen. They were illustrated by Charles Keeping.