Mark Burgess (children's author) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Burgess
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Mark Burgess in 2009
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| Born | Mark Simon Burgess 26 April 1957 Chislehurst, England |
| Pen name | Simon Goswell (two books only) |
| Occupation | Artist, Writer, Computer Programmer |
| Alma mater | Christ's Hospital Slade School of Fine Art, B.A. |
| Genre | children's literature |
| Spouse | Rosemary J. Benson. |
Mark Burgess (born 26 April 1957; pen name Simon Goswell for two books) is best known as an English author and illustrator of children's literature. He has illustrated books by Tony Bradman and Martin Waddell. Among his most recent assignments, he illustrated Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the authorized sequel of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Burgess also designs greeting cards and is a computer programmer. Additionally, Burgess has colored and adapted the newer editions of various classic children's books that were drawn by the late E. H. Shepard and Peggy Fortnum.
Life
Mark Simon Burgess was born in Chislehurst on 26 April 1957 to John Frederick Orchard Burgess and Mona Goswell. He was the third child among his four siblings. He attended boarding school at Christ's Hospital in Sussex, England from 1968 to 1974 in the Middleton B house.
In 1975, Burgess began studying at the Slade School of Fine Art of the University College London. Graduating from there with a B.A. in Fine Art in 1979, he began working as a freelance author and illustrator of children's books, magazines and greetings cards (of which he has designed over 500). He also briefly worked at the London Zoo as well as in a library in Cambridge.
The first book Burgess illustrated is Martin Waddell's Harriet and the Crocodiles, published in 1983.
He currently lives in Taunton, Somerset and is married to Malawi-born artist Rosemary Benson, who is his senior by 9 years and who also attended the Slade School of Art from 1977 to 1979.
Style
While Burgess has written and illustrated various books in his own style, his ability to reproduce the style of other (deceased) artists has been noted on more than one occasion. For example, the book Dogs' Night, by Meredith Hooper, begun with Allan Curless as the illustrator. However, since Curless died before its completion, Burgess finished the job such "that most readers would be hard-pressed to identify which artist did which pictures", according to Lauren P. Gattilia for Education World.
Burgess also illustrated Return to the Hundred Acre Wood in the style of E. H. Shepard, whose work he admired. When speaking of his work on that book, Burgess said:
"I approached this project with great trepidation. In my worst moments I wonder if Shepard would absolutely hate what I'm doing. That would be dreadful, I absolutely revere him."
