Posy Simmonds facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Posy Simmonds |
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Simmonds at Hatchards, London, November 2018
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| Born | Rosemary Elizabeth Simmonds 9 August 1945 Berkshire, England |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist Illustrator Writer |
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Notable works
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Gemma Bovery Tamara Drewe |
| Awards | MBE, Prix de la critique, British Comic Awards Hall of Fame (2014) |
Rosemary Elizabeth "Posy" Simmonds is a famous British cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. She was born on August 9, 1945. She creates both books for children and longer comic stories called graphic novels.
Posy Simmonds is well-known for her work with The Guardian newspaper. She drew popular series like Gemma Bovery (2000) and Tamara Drewe (2005–06). These stories were later turned into books. Her unique style often makes gentle fun of everyday life, especially for people who love books. Her stories often feature a main character who faces challenges, similar to old romantic novels, but with a modern and funny twist.
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Early Life and Education
Posy Simmonds was born in Berkshire, England, on August 9, 1945. Her parents were Reginald A. C. Simmonds and Betty Cahusac. Her brother, Richard Simmonds, later became a politician.
She went to Queen Anne's School in Caversham. After that, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. She then returned to London to attend the Central School of Art & Design. There, she earned a degree in Art and Design. In 1974, she married Richard Graham Hollis.
Beginning Her Career
Posy Simmonds started her career in newspapers in 1969. She drew a daily cartoon called "Bear" for The Sun. From 1968 to 1970, she also drew funny pictures for The Times newspaper. She contributed to Cosmopolitan magazine as well. In 1972, she joined The Guardian as an illustrator.
Weekly Comic Strips
In May 1977, Posy Simmonds began drawing a weekly comic strip for The Guardian. It was first called The Silent Three of St Botolph's. This was a playful nod to an older comic strip from the 1950s. Her strip started as a silly parody of girls' adventure stories. It also made funny comments about daily life at the time.
The strip soon began to focus on three friends from their school days in the 1950s. These friends were now middle-aged and living middle-class lives.
- Wendy Weber was a former nurse married to George, a college sociology teacher. They had many children.
- Jo Heep was married to whisky salesman Edmund. They had two rebellious teenagers.
- Trish Wright was married to Stanhope, an advertising executive, and had a young baby.
This comic strip, often just called "Posy," ran until the late 1980s. Many of these strips were collected into books. Some titles include Mrs Weber's Diary, Pick of Posy, Very Posy, and Pure Posy. She also created an original book with these characters called True Love. Her later cartoons for The Guardian and The Spectator were collected in the book Mustn't Grumble in 1993.
Children's Books and Awards
In 1981, Posy Simmonds was named Cartoonist of the Year at the British Press Awards. She also drew a regular full-page comic strip for Harper's Magazine in America in 1982 and 1983.
In 1987, Simmonds started writing and illustrating children's books. Her book Fred was about a cat with a secret life. It was later made into an animated film called Famous Fred. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short Film and several BAFTA awards. Other children's books by her include Lulu and the Flying Babies, The Chocolate Wedding, and Lavender.
She was recognized for her contributions to literature. In 2004, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2002, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her work in the newspaper industry.
Graphic Novels and Film Adaptations
In the late 1990s, Posy Simmonds returned to The Guardian with Gemma Bovery. This story was a modern and funny retelling of the classic French novel Madame Bovary. It followed English people living in France. Gemma Bovery was published as a graphic novel in 1999. It was later made into a movie of the same name in 2014, starring Gemma Arterton.
Her series Tamara Drewe appeared in The Guardian from 2005 to 2006. This story was inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Far from the Madding Crowd. It was published as a book in 2007. In 2010, Tamara Drewe was also adapted into a movie, directed by Stephen Frears, and also starring Gemma Arterton.
Posy Simmonds' third graphic novel, Cassandra Darke, was published in 2018. This book is loosely based on Charles Dickens' famous story A Christmas Carol. The main character, Cassandra Darke, is similar to Ebenezer Scrooge. She also goes through a big change in her life.
Simmonds also created illustrations for the opening titles of the BBC's 2007 TV show Cranford. She also illustrated Midsummer Nights, a book of short stories about opera, in 2009.
She has received several international awards for her work. In 2009, she won the Prix de la critique from French comics critics for Tamara Drewe. In 2022, she was awarded the Grand Prix Töpffer by the city of Geneva, Switzerland. In 2024, she became the first British cartoonist to win the prestigious Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême in France.
Television and Film Scripts
Posy Simmonds has also written scripts for television and film:
- The Frog Prince (1984)
- Tresoddit for Easter (1991)
- Famous Fred (1996)
See also
In Spanish: Posy Simmonds para niños
