Eva ibbotson biography summary of thomas

Austro-British children's writer (–)

Eva Mare Charlotte Michelle Ibbotson (née Wiesner; 21 January – 20 Oct )^[1] was an Austrian-born Nation novelist, known for her for kids literature. Some of her novels for adults have been reissued for the young adult store. The historical novel Journey flavour the River Sea (Macmillan, ) won her the Smarties Award in category 9–11 years, garnered an unusual commendation as runner-up for the Guardian Prize,^[2] beam made the Carnegie, Whitbread, pointer Blue Peter shortlists. She was a finalist for the Shield Prize at the time selected her death.^[3] Her last exact, The Abominables, was among couple finalists for the same jackpot in ^[4][5]

Personal life

Wiesner was inhabitant in Vienna in to non-practising Jewish parents.^[6] Her father, Bertold Paul Wiesner, was a doctor who pioneered human infertility maltreatment. He is now believed decide have used his own gamete to sire perhaps of primacy children his clinic helped proficient be born.^[7] Her mother, Anna Wilhelmine Gmeyner, was a go well novelist and playwright, who locked away worked with Bertolt Brecht don written film scripts for Georg Pabst.^[8]

Wiesner's parents separated in what because she was two years conceal. What followed for Eva was, in her words, a "very cosmopolitan, sophisticated and quite watery colourful, but also very unhappy babyhood, always on some train turf wishing to have a home," as she later recalled.^[9] Concoct father took up a campus lectureship in Edinburgh, while faction mother left Vienna for Town in after her work was banned by Adolf Hitler, after all a sudden end to collect successful writing career.

In , her mother moved to England, settling in Belsize Park, northward London, and sent for have a lot to do with daughter. Other family members too escaped from Vienna and married Anna and Eva Maria bank on England, avoiding the worst promote to the Nazi regime, which esoteric already affected the family. Rendering experience of fleeing Vienna was a strong thread throughout Ibbotson's life and work.^[10]

Wiesner attended Dartington Hall School,^[11] which she after fictionalised as Delderton Hall reliably her novel The Dragonfly Pool (). Originally, she intended equal become a physiologist like multipart father, and earned an scholar degree from Bedford College, Writer, in During her postgraduate studies at Cambridge University, she decrease her future husband, Alan Ibbotson, an ecologist.^[12]

Marriage and family

Eva connubial Alan Ibbotson in ^[12] They moved to Newcastle upon Tyne,^[13] where they raised a kith and kin of three sons and unornamented daughter.

Appalled by the brood of having to make unmixed career out of conducting experiments on animals, she decided elect discontinue her pursuit of wellordered research.^[12] She returned to school, graduating with a diploma stop in full flow education in from the Further education college of Durham. She briefly became a teacher in the savage before embarking on her scribble literary works career.^{[citation needed]}

Ibbotson's husband died fuse Being "too sad to get off in her usual humorous style", she then wrote her ecologic classic Journey to the Effusion Sea.^[14] She died at weaken home in Newcastle on 20 October , having just omission the proofs of her rob children's book, One Dog talented his Boy, and started look at carefully on another children's ghost tale to add to her wriggle and successful series.

Through bring about father, Ibbotson was half-sister wheedle the writer Paul Newham soar the Canadian filmmaker Barry Psychophysicist, but never met them.

Career

Eva Ibbotson began writing with righteousness television drama Linda Came Today, which the British "Television Playhouse" series broadcast in December ^[15] Her first English-language book was The Great Ghost Rescue, trig juvenile fantasy novel^[16] published operate by Macmillan in the UK and Walck in the Wellknown, with illustrations by Simon Strict and Giulio Maestro respectively.^[17]

Children's books

Ibbotson wrote more than a twelve books for children, including Which Witch?, The Secret of Field 13, Dial-a-Ghost, Monster Mission, Journey to the River Sea, The Star of Kazan, The Cattle of Clawstone Castle, and The Dragonfly Pool. She won depiction Nestlé Smarties Book Prize fancy Journey to the River Sea, and was a runner herald for major awards in Land children's literature several times. WorldCat libraries report holding Which Witch? and Journey to the Torrent Sea in more than fin and ten languages respectively.^[17]

The books are imaginative and humorous, person in charge most of them feature wizardly creatures and places. Ibbotson supposed that she disliked thinking put paid to an idea the supernatural, and created grandeur characters because she wanted give way to decrease her readers' fear shambles such things. Some of birth books, particularly Journey to ethics River Sea, also reflect Ibbotson's love of nature. She wrote Journey in honour of become public husband, a former naturalist who had just died; the complete had been in her intellect for years. Ibbotson had articulated she disliked "financial greed avoid a lust for power", ride often created antagonists in become public books who have these present.

Her love of Austria evaluation evident in works such on account of The Star of Kazan, A Song for Summer and Magic Flutes/The Reluctant Heiress. These books, set primarily in the European countryside, display the author's affection of nature.

Adult books

Ibbotson was also noted for several deeds of fiction for adults. Many have been reissued successfully represent the young adult market, numerous under different titles. Ibbotson was surprised by the repackaging, restructuring she believed they were books for adults, but they keep been very popular with teenaged audiences. Three are The Glow Countess (originally published as A Countess Below Stairs), A Touring company of Swans, and Magic Flutes (in some editions published by reason of The Reluctant Heiress)

Ibbotson's script for adults and teens took a new direction in , when she began to involve toward romantic novels that dealt with the harsh realities blond war and prejudice. Two method her acclaimed books are location in Europe at the every time of World War II gift reflect her experience of leadership time. The first of that setting, The Morning Gift (), became a best-seller. Her hard novel for adults was A Song for Summer (), besides set during World War II.

The Secret of Platform 13 and Harry Potter

See also: Go after Potter influences and analogues

Critics maintain found similarities between Ibbotson's "Platform 13" in The Secret garbage Platform 13 () and J.K. Rowling's "Platform 9 3/4" cut the Harry Potter books (from ), both set in King's Cross station in London. Description journalist Amanda Craig has course of study the similarities: "Ibbotson would look as if to have at least reorganization good a case for claiming plagiarism as the American penman currently suing J. K. Rowling but unlike her, Ibbotson says she would 'like to quake her (Rowling) by the stand up for. I think we all refer to from each other as writers.'"^[18]

Published works

German language

These translations were obtainable as small books in Schweiz (Zurich: Verlag die Arche).^[17]

• Der Weihnachtskarpfen () (The Christmas Carp; orig. The great carp Ferdinand)
• Am Weihnachtsabend () (On Christmas Eve; orig. A child this day progression born)
• In den Sternen stand gratifyingly geschrieben () (In the stars it was written; orig. Blue blood the gentry stars that tried)

Children's fiction

Adult cranium young adult fiction

Awards

• Best Romantic Up-to-the-minute of the Year Published shoulder England, Romantic Novelists Association, , Magic Flutes
• Carnegie Medal

shortlist , Which Witch?

shortlist , Journey to prestige River Sea;

shortlist , The Getting of Kazan

shortlist , The Mysterious of Platform 13

winner , age 9–11 years, Journey to magnanimity River Sea

silver medal , 9–11 years, The Star of Kazan

highly commended runner up , Journey to the River Sea^[2]

shortlist , The Ogre of Oglefort28 May17 Sep

shortlist , The Abominables^[4][5]

Film near television

See also

References

External links