Robert Leeson
Robert Arthur Leeson (31 March 1928 – 29 September 2013)[1] was a Cheshire-born British author, mainly known for his children's books. Before becoming a writer, he worked as Literary Editor of the left-wing British newspaper the Morning Star.[2]
He was a prolific writer, having had over 70 books for young people published between 1973 and 2003. His books include several historical novels, such as Maroon Boy (1974), The Third Class Genie (1975) (a humorous fantasy novel) and the science-fiction Time Rope (1986) and Zania Experiment (1993) series.[2] [3] Leeson also wrote social realist novels such as It's My Life (1980) about a teenage girl who has to look after her family after her mother walks out on them.[2] Silver's Revenge is a humorous sequel to Treasure Island, and Candy for the King is a fairytale about a giant influenced by Voltaire's Candide.[3] Leeson's Reading and Righting: the past,present and future of Fiction for the young (1985) is a history of children's literature. He has also written for radio, television and the theatre.
Leeson cited the fiction of Geoffrey Trease as an influence on his work.[4]
Bibliography
- United We Stand (1971)
- Strike (1973)
- Beyond the Dragon Prow (1973)
- Maroon Boy (1974)
- The Third Class Genie (1975)
- Children's Books and Class Society (1977)
- The White Horse (1977)
- The Cimaroons (1978)
- Challenge in the Dark (1978)
- Silver's Revenge (1978)
- Travelling Brothers (1979)
- It's My Life (1980)
- Harold and Bella, Jammy and Me (1980)
- Bess (1983)
- Candy for King (1983)
- The People's Dream (1983)
- Mum and Dad's Big Business (1983)
- Genie on the Loose (1984)
- The Adventures of Baxter and Co. (1984)
- Reading and Righting: The Past, Present and Future of Fiction for the young (1985)
- Time Rope (1986)
- Wheel of Danger (1986)
- At War With Tomorrow (1986)
- Three Against the World (1986)
- The Metro Gangs Attack (1986)
- The Reversible Giant (1986)
- Slambash Wangs of a Compo Gormer (1987)
- Never Kiss Frogs (1988)
- Burper (1989)
- How Alice Saved Captain Miracle (1989)
- Hey Robin (1989)
- Right Royal Kidnap (1990)
- Jan Alone (1990)
- Fire on the Cloud (1991)
- Coming Home (1991)
- One Frog Too Many (1991)
- Pancake Pickle (1991)
- Landing in Cloud Valley (1991)
- April Fool at Hob Lane School (1991)
- Never Kiss Frogs (1992)
- No Sleep for Hob Lane (1993)
- Karlo's Tale (1993)
- Hide And Seek (1993)
- The Last Genie (1993)
- Ghosts at Hob Lane (1993)
- Smart Girls (1993)
- Deadline (1993)
- Danger Trail (1993)
- Blast Off! (1993)
- The Dog Who Changed the World (1994)
- The Story of Robin Hood (1994)
- Swapper (1994)
- All the Gold in the World (1995)
- Red, White and Blue (1995)
- The Amazing Adventures of Idle Jack (1995)
- Smart Girls Forever (1996)
- Lucky Lad! (1997)
- Doomwater (1997)
- Geraldine Gets Lucky (1997)
- Tom's Private War (1998)
- Trwco (1998)
- Why's the Cow on the Roof? (1999)
- Liar (1999)
- The Song of Arthur (2000)
- Ruth (2000)
- My sister Shahrazad: Tales from the Arabian Nights (2001)
- Tom's War Patrol (2001)
- Tom's War (2003) (Omnibus of Tom's Private War and Tom's War Patrol).
- Partners in Crime (2003)
- Onda, Wind-Rider (2003)
TV Tie-Ins
- Grange Hill Rules OK? (1980).
- Grange Hill Goes Wild (1980).
- Grange Hill for Sale (1981). Novel
- Grange Hill Home and Away (1982).
- Forty Days of Tucker J., 1983.
References
- ↑ Robert Leeson obituary
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard,"The Oxford Companion to children's literature" Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-19-860228-6 (p. 308)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Emer O'Sullivan, Historical Dictionary of Children's Literature.Scarecrow Press, 2010, ISBN 0-8108-6080-5, (p.156).
- ↑ Peter Hunt and Dennis Butts, Children's Literature: an illustrated history .Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-212320-6 (p.295).
