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Post by kunuma on Nov 12, 2007 10:48:00 GMT 1
I've been trying to find out more about Ruby Ferguson, and read one of her non horsy books, and realised there is something about the way she writes that I like - as I enjoyed that and sort of recognised her style. One thing that surprised me was how old she was when she wrote the pony books, no wonder I like reading them now as a er.... mature person! The PT sisters were able to start writing so knowledgeably at such a young age because in RL they had done so much with horses when young. The same with Monica Edwards (go on - someone start a thread on her!) Perhaps true pony book writers and READERS - never grow up! Certainly true of me! However, enough waffling, what I should like to work out is whether the older pony books tended to be written by mature writers and the more modern ones by younger writers. Anyone know about Primrose Cumming? I do know one which defeats the theory, the very good Bobbie and Shelta books, were, I believe, written by a teenager. So as not to get too involved, what age were they when they STARTED writing?
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Post by Claire on Nov 12, 2007 12:08:11 GMT 1
This is really interesting. I have not done a lot of research into the biographical details of authors lives as I have been concentrating more on the series etc, so if anyone has any info in this area it will be much appreciated as I would like to expand the website to include this too.
Re. the ages, Primrose Cummings was also very young when she started writing (a teenager when she wrote Doney). In fact I think the majority of 'classic' pony book authors actually did start writing at a young age. Others I know who did are Sheila Chapman, Gillian Baxter (who you mentioned) and Moyra Charlton who if I remember rightly was only about 13 when she wrote her first book! Not 100% sure about Patricia Leitch but I think she was fairly young when she started too. And of course the P-Ts.
Joanna Cannan was older when she wrote her first pony book A Pony For Jean as she had already had her children by then, as I think was Hilda Boden, and of course Pat Smythe as she had already had a showjumping career before she started writing.
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Post by garej on Nov 16, 2007 22:02:56 GMT 1
K M Peyton started at an early age, she was 15 when she had her first book published.
I got the Fidra books edition of Fly By Night this week - I glanced through the autobiography of her - which she wrote herself. In it she wrote something like "I have been publishing 1 a year for 60 years", which makes 60 books. She is 78, so she started writing one a year when she was 18, so even if she has only published 1 book before the age of 18 (I havent got the time to work out exactly how many she has written), that makes her pretty young.
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Post by Claire on Nov 26, 2007 12:04:39 GMT 1
Just been reading about Walter Farley and apparantly he wrote the Black Stallion when he was only about 18 or 19 when he was at college. It was published a bit later when he had reached the 'ripe old age' of 26!
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Post by kunuma on Nov 26, 2007 21:32:01 GMT 1
That's interesting, did he have an Arab, or was it more of a fantasy (now there's a forum topic ) I liked parts of the books, but I got sort of confused as to whether the Black was an Arab or not, as he seemed to transform into a TB for stud purposes and when he was on the track! I got even more confused when his progeny hit the racing scene!
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Post by Claire on Dec 6, 2007 15:13:11 GMT 1
Two more authors for you kunuma!
Elyne Mitchell was born in 1913, her first brumby book was published in 1958 so (frantically trying to work it out) she was around 45 so not really that young.
I have been trying to find out when Hilda Boden was born it appears it may have been 1901 which also makes her in her forties when she published her first book and in her late fifties when her most popular books were being published.
In general tho it does seem that the pony book genre had a much higher percentage of very young writers than other genres.
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Post by haffyfan on Dec 21, 2007 19:45:15 GMT 1
I ahve just read Avril Knott's Pony Of Gold, she was 15 when she wrote it. And Moyra Charlton, according to dust wrapper, was 11 when she wrote Tally Ho. WOW!!!!
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Post by Claire on Dec 30, 2007 13:05:37 GMT 1
Have been doing some research on Marguerite Henry. She was only 11 when she sold her first story, but it was much later when she published her first book. She was about 38. Amazingly she was in her 90s when she wrote her last book! I wonder if there were any pony authors older than this?
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Post by haffyfan on Dec 30, 2007 14:50:41 GMT 1
I bet K M Peyton will take on the challenge though!
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Post by susanb on Jan 12, 2008 5:38:24 GMT 1
Mary Treadgold was a schoolgirl when she wrote her first book "We Couldn't Leave Dinah", as were Katherine Hull and Pamela Whitlock when they penned Far Distant Oxus.
Maybe children were just better educated then? Or more mature?
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Post by haffyfan on Jan 12, 2008 12:46:51 GMT 1
Susanb I think your right....although children appear to grow up very quickly (or lose their innocence earlier!) nowadays, they are not expected to behave like grown ups or do a days work etc etc until much later on and probably are much more immature in life experience terms.
Education? Not sure...different emphasis on education back then, I think, rather than being better...today's youngsters have a more 'rounded' education.
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Post by garej on Feb 2, 2008 18:13:28 GMT 1
Another one to add: Ursula Moray Williams.
Although she didnt write entirely horse books, nevertheless some book are pony related of hers (Dumpling for example) and her first book was published at age 20.
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Post by susanb on Feb 7, 2008 19:21:01 GMT 1
Adding a couple more....one I'd forgotten - Riding with Reka by "Heather", written when the author was a teen, sadly published after her untimely death. Illustrated by Lionel Edwards, published by Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1937
...and one I just bought (hasn't arrived yet) - Pax by Muriel Hodder, written at the ripe old age of 11. Perhaps even more astonishing, it had both UK (Faber and Gwyer) and US (Viking)printings at the same time (1928).....an international success at 11!
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Post by susanb on Feb 7, 2008 19:49:00 GMT 1
Hi Haffy!
Re education....yes, I suppose it's true....children in the early part of the 20th century probably didn't get much in the way of chemistry or biology (or art or music for that matter), but I have to say I think that developing a love of reading is the key....because a kid that loves to read grows into an adult who likes to read, and then education doesn't end when that last classroom bell rings. Who among us had actually learned everything she needed to know the day she graduated from school at 18 or 21? ( :-) Susan now climbes gingerly down from soapbox!).
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