Ann Turnbull
, b. 1943
Ann Turnbull (b. 1943, Hertford) is a British author of fiction for children and teenagers. Much of her work is historical fiction, including themes of women’s history and religious persecution such as No Shame, No Fear (2003), In That Time of Secrets (2018) and Josie Under Fire (2004). Her historical novels about girls appear in a series with works by Adèle Geras, author of Troy.
As a child, she was shy and never enjoyed school, particularly prior to her teens. As an adult, she worked as a secretary, then trained as a teacher but decided teaching was not for her. Whilst training, however, she became inspired to try her hand at children’s fiction. Her first novel was published in 1974. She then had two children and became a stay at home mother, saying "I loved being at home with young children. It was the best and most fulfilling job I ever had – and the children had an enormous influence on my writing."* She says about writing after raising her children and changing her direction from the former fantasy influence, "I found I was drawn to more character-led, domestic themes – at least in my books for older children. I’ve always been interested in history, and many of my stories are set in the past or involve the mingling of past and present."**
Turnbull says her favourite books as a child were C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series and Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. She currently lives in Shropshire with her husband and enjoys walking in woodland, reading, dancing and singing.
According to O’ Reilly, "Her work as a whole shows great empathy for child readers, as well as confidence in their abilities. She does not shy away from difficult topics."***
Sources:
Official website (accessed: September 24, 2020).
walker.co.uk (accessed: September 24, 2020).
Elizabeth O’ Reilly, British Council Biography, 2007 (accessed: September 24, 2020).
Bio prepared by Robin Diver, University of Birmingham, RSD253@student.bham.ac.uk
* walker.co.uk (accessed: September 24, 2020).
** Ibidem.
*** Elizabeth O’ Reilly, British Council Biography, 2007 (accessed: September 24, 2020).
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