Gwendoline Courtney (1911–1996)
Author of Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre
About the Author
Image credit: Girls Gone By Publishers
Series
Works by Gwendoline Courtney
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1911-09-23
- Date of death
- 1996
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Oldershaw High School
- Occupations
- children's book author
young adult writer - Short biography
- Gwendoline Courtney was born near Southampton, the younger daughter of Edwin Courtney, an antiques dealer, and Joanna nee Potter. Although there seem to have been no professional writers among her forebears, Arthur Mee was a distant cousin and among her first cousins was Phyllis Norris, who wrote 8 girls books. Gwendoline failed to matriculate because of ill health and may have trained as a secretary; she seems to have worked for some time in her father's office. During the second world war she worked in Lord Goodman's office and prided herself on being the only civilian to work on Operation Overlord. She suffered an ear injury from a bomb blast that made noise hard to bear and later moved around a great deal.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
- Place of death
- Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
This is a great read with a lot of depth. Sally's siblings were separated during the Second World War and sent to various homes, when Sally finds out her father's dying wish is to have them all reunited again, she rents a house and sends for her brothers and sisters scattered all over the country. When they come back, they all realise they've all grown a lot during those years and while they try and find ways to bond as a family again, they all grow into fully fleshed, interesting people. show more It's a touching and very comforting story with lots of details about cooking, sewing, gardening and housekeeping, which I loved. I also really enjoyed that every child has a personality of his or her own and you can easily tell them apart, which also means that Courtney makes sure all of their different skills are valued. It has some interesting insight about the evacuation of children and the characters are an absolute delight. While Sally is the main character, my favourite sibling ended up being Lucy, a smart bookworm with a good deal of common sense who ends up choosing an unexpected career path. It's a very strong book and while it was my first by Courtney, it certainly won't be the last. show less
Gift from LibraryThing Secret Santa. First book I've been certain I'm keeping in a while. I love it all - the characterisation, the historical knowledge, the psychological impact of being moved around by war, the nice friendly sorts who rally round... It's a happy comforting book but also a little interesting.
This is another of Courtney's cleaning books where the characters enthusiastically wash down walls and scrub floors and make you feel very virtuous without the effort of actually cleaning your own house. Also a great read when you're in the middle of moving house or spring cleaning yourself to give you motivation! You will feel grateful for the invention of the vacuum cleaner...
This book is also another where the parents go off leaving the children to cope alone (which of course they do show more marvellously). I have always loved that particular subgenre of children's literature. show less
This book is also another where the parents go off leaving the children to cope alone (which of course they do show more marvellously). I have always loved that particular subgenre of children's literature. show less
I love this book. Why it isn't more well-known I don't understand. Though written in the forties the four Verney sisters are vividly described, and very charming. One of my comfort-reads, it always brings a smile to my lips.
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Statistics
- Works
- 14
- Members
- 571
- Popularity
- #43,840
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 19
- Favorited
- 3