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Nina Bawden (1925–2012)

Author of Carrie's War

54+ Works 4,012 Members 80 Reviews 5 Favorited

About the Author

Nina Bawden was born in Ilford, Essex, England on January 19, 1925. She received a B.A. in 1946 and a M.A. in 1951 from Somerville College, Oxford. During her lifetime, she wrote more than 40 books for both children and adults. Her first adult novel was published in 1953. Her books for adults show more include Circles of Deceit, The Ruffian on the Stair, and Dear Austen. Her first children's book The Secret Passage was published in 1963. Her children's books include Kept in the Dark, Humbug, The Birds on the Trees, Carrie's War, The Outside Child, Granny the Pag, and Off the Road. She received numerous awards for her work including the 1976 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for The Peppermint Pig and the 1977 Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year Award for Afternoon of a Good Woman. She was made a CBE in 1995 and received the ST Dupont Golden Pen Award for a lifetime's contribution to literature in 2004. She died on August 22, 2012 at the age of 87. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Variant Names: Nina Mary Mabey Kark Nina Bawden, Nina Mary Mabey Bawden, Nina Mary (Mabey) Kark, Nina Mary Kark, Nina (Mary) Bawden, Mary Mabey, Nina Mary Bawden, Nina Mary Mabey

Series

Works by Nina Bawden

Carrie's War (1973) 939 copies
The Peppermint Pig (1975) 282 copies
The Witch's Daughter (1966) 220 copies
Family Money (1991) 146 copies
The Birds on the Trees (1970) 133 copies
Circles of Deceit (1987) 127 copies
Granny the Pag (1995) 105 copies
Keeping Henry (1988) 101 copies
The Ice House (1983) 100 copies
A Handful of Thieves (1967) 92 copies
Tortoise by Candelight (1963) 92 copies
A Woman of My Age (1967) 91 copies
Humbug (1992) 79 copies
Walking Naked (1981) 78 copies
On the Run (1964) 73 copies
Devil by the Sea (1958) 72 copies
The Runaway Summer (1969) 70 copies
Off the Road (1998) 68 copies
The Finding (1985) 68 copies
Afternoon of a Good Woman (1976) 67 copies
Kept in the Dark (1982) 63 copies
Squib (1971) 59 copies
A Nice Change (1997) 56 copies
The Outside Child (1989) 55 copies
The White Horse Gang (1966) 54 copies
The Grain of Truth (1968) 52 copies
The Robbers (1979) 51 copies
George Beneath a Paper Moon (1974) 48 copies
Familiar Passions (1979) 47 copies
The Real Plato Jones (1993) 46 copies
Anna Apparent (1972) 45 copies
Ruffian on the Stair (2001) 39 copies
Rebel on a Rock (1978) 35 copies
Saint Francis of Assisi (1983) 26 copies
Dear Austen (2005) 19 copies
William Tell (1981) 16 copies
The Odd Flamingo (1797) 13 copies
The Solitary Child (1956) 9 copies
Who Calls The Tune (1953) 8 copies
Princess Alice (1985) 4 copies
Under The Skin (1964) 4 copies
Change Here for Babylon (1754) 4 copies
In Honour Bound (1961) 3 copies
Just like a lady (1960) 2 copies
Eyes of Green 2 copies
Tajemniczy chłopiec (1989) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Secret Garden (1911) — Foreword, some editions — 34,948 copies
The House of Mirth (1905) — Introduction, some editions — 9,658 copies
Someone at a Distance (1953) — Preface, some editions; Foreword, some editions — 598 copies
Castle Dor (1961) — Introduction, some editions — 386 copies
A Virago Keepsake to Celebrate Twenty Years of Publishing (1993) — Contributor — 48 copies
Virago Is 40 (2013) — Contributor — 30 copies
The Thorny Paradise: Writers on Writing for Children (1975) — Contributor — 15 copies
Growing Up Stories (1995) — Contributor — 10 copies
Top Teen Stories (2004) — Contributor — 6 copies

Tagged

19th century (186) 20th century (381) American (225) American literature (312) British (259) British literature (170) chapter book (152) children (697) children's (1,271) children's books (214) children's classics (183) children's fiction (300) children's literature (716) classic (1,539) classic literature (141) classics (1,543) ebook (218) England (565) family (155) fantasy (152) fiction (4,248) friendship (315) garden (176) gardens (254) historical fiction (273) India (162) juvenile (171) Kindle (220) literature (509) New York (196) novel (550) orphans (313) own (240) read (565) to-read (1,518) unread (162) Virago (157) Virago Modern Classics (149) YA (182) young adult (356)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Bawden, Nina Mary Mabey
Birthdate
1925-01-19
Date of death
2012-08-22
Gender
female
Nationality
UK
England
Birthplace
Ilford, London, England, UK
Place of death
North London, England, UK
Places of residence
London, England, UK
Aberdare, South Wales, UK
Shropshire, England, UK
Nauplion, Greece
Education
University of Oxford (Somerville College|BA|1946 |MA|1951 - Philosophy, Politics and Economics)
Occupations
novelist
children's book author
memoirist
autobiographer
Relationships
Kark, Austen (husband | widowed)
Awards and honors
Golden PEN Award (2004)
Commander of the British Empire (1995)
Agent
Curtis Brown
Short biography
Nina Bawden, née Mabey, was born in Ilford, in Essex, England. In 1943 she went to Oxford University to read philosophy, politics and economics, and received her B.A. degree in 1946 and a M.A. in 1951. During her lifetime, she wrote more than 40 books for both children and adults. Her debut book, a crime novel called Who Calls the Tune, was published in 1953. Her other fiction for adults included Circles of Deceit (1987) and The Ruffian on the Stair. Her first children's book, The Secret Passage, was published in 1963. Her children's books included Kept in the Dark, Humbug, The Birds on the Trees, The Outside Child, Granny the Pag, and Off the Road. Her best-known book, Carrie's War (1973), was adapted for television in both 1974 and 2004. In 1994, she published In My Own Time: Almost an Autobiography, and in 2005, she published the memoir Dear Austen, addressed to her second husband, Austen Kark, who had been killed three years earlier in a train derailment. She received numerous awards for her work, including the 1976 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for The Peppermint Pig and the 1977 Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year Award for Afternoon of a Good Woman. She was made a CBE in 1995.
Disambiguation notice
Variant Names: Nina Mary Mabey Kark
Nina Bawden, Nina Mary Mabey Bawden, Nina Mary (Mabey) Kark, Nina Mary Kark, Nina (Mary) Bawden, Mary Mabey, Nina Mary Bawden, Nina Mary Mabey

Members

Discussions

Nina Bawden Readalong in Virago Modern Classics (May 2013)

Reviews

I liked the characterisation of the children and also the petty tyrant Mr Evans and his downtrodden sister. I enjoyed the first part of the story. However, for me the story veered off into melodrama with the introduction of Hepzibah and the 'screaming skull' and old house etc. I felt there was a story here that wasn't told: the two children only interact with a fellow evacuee who is staying with Hepzibah; there is no hint at how they get on with the Welsh children, what it is like being at a school that is held in various chapels dotted around the place. It felt curiously as if took place in a vacuum.… (more)
 
Flagged
kitsune_reader | 12 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |
Two childhood friends are now middle-aged. Their childhoods were diametrically opposite, one outgoing and confident growing up in a middle-class loving albeit affair-ridden home, the other reclusive and timid as a result of a wealthy and abusive household.

In their middle-age, we're now privy to how their personalities had led them to choices that led them to their current lifestyle. I've been really enjoying these sorts of personality-led narratives centered on older characters.

In terms of the calm way that the plot is gently propelled forward and maybe some prose, The Ice House reminded me a lot of Comyns' The Skin Chairs. But their biggest commonality is their quiet brilliance.… (more)
½
 
Flagged
kitzyl | 4 other reviews | Jan 16, 2022 |
The main character in Granny the Pag is Catriona Brooke. Cat is left with her grandmother when her actor parents decide to tour the country, going from one theater to another. In the beginning, Cat hates the idea, and in her anger, she writes that her grandmother is a pig. At the time however, Cat is too young to know how to spell and writes "Pag" instead of pig. The name sticks and becomes a term of endearment. As Cat is about to turn 13, her parents settle in London, and they decide that they want Cat back. She doesn't want to live with them anymore, which creates the main conflict in the story.
I loved the character of the Pag. She rides a Harley and smokes whenever she wants to. Unfortunately, the Pag isn't the main character. We get bogged down in the day to day problems of Cat and hardly get to know the other characters in the book. In addition, the story is set in London, and some of the references are strictly British making them hard to understand. Also, there isn't a whole lot of action in the book, and the drama is very understated. It is a fairly slow and predictable story.
… (more)
 
Flagged
ftbooklover | 3 other reviews | Oct 12, 2021 |
a coming of age story about 4 children who stay with relatives in Norfolk while their father goes to America to start a new life for them. The protagonist gets a pig because she is lonely. The name is a take-off of the Peppermint pigs were candies made at Christmas to bring prosperity and wealth. This was a YA book. 189 pages
 
Flagged
Tess_W | 3 other reviews | Jul 12, 2021 |

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Statistics

Works
54
Also by
12
Members
4,012
Popularity
#6,288
Rating
4.1
Reviews
80
ISBNs
418
Languages
9
Favorited
5

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