Part of the fun of collecting and selling books is learning more about our favourite authors.  We thought it would be nice to share some of those enthusiasms with you, and so we hope to put together some pages featuring more about those authors, including links to other sites and / or fan clubs where appropriate; see below for a list. Our children have also thought they would like to share some of their current books with you; here are some of their thoughts - click here to see what they like. Further down the page, you will find information about Malcolm Saville, Monica Edwards and other authors.  

For Geoffrey Trease fans, here is a message from Sally.

"A Geoffrey Trease Society is now being launched by a cousin of Geoffrey's, Heather Trease. Initially, the subscription is £5 within the UK, and £7.50 overseas and the aim is to produce two journals a year of interest to all enthusiasts of Geoffrey's books. Later there may be some scope for meetings or visits, and if the membership is large enough, it may be feasible to increase the frequency of the magazine. If anyone would like to contribute articles or items for the magazine, please let me know.

please e-mail me at: sdore@waitrose.com

and I will let you have the details.

For Malcolm Saville fans, here is a message from Betula.

"The Complete Lone Pine is now available! It is a companion volume to the Lone Pine titles written by Malcolm Saville. All the characters mentioned in the Lone Pine books are mentioned and cross-referenced. There is also a large section on Exploring Lone Pine Country, and chapters on the publishing history of Saville's books and a bibliography. It compliments Beyond the Lone Pine, which is Malcolm Saville's biography (also written by Mark O'Hanlon, and I have copies if anyone missed out!)

Email me at: topsyturvy@blueyonder.co.uk

For Monica Edwards fans, here is a message from Richard Wright.

"For some little time I was astonished to see there was no society celebrating the works of Monica Edwards along the lines of the Arthur Ransome Society or the Malcolm Saville Society. Having mentioned this to one or two people, who said jokingly "You should start one!", I thought that maybe, just maybe…. So I asked Betula what she thought the prospects were, and she was so encouraging that I decided to give it a go. The first thing was to get an idea of the amount of interest. A website is doing that, along with Topsy-turvy (bless them) and other people (bless them too), and if you’re interested, have a look at www.punchbowl.freeuk.com . So far, I’m quite encouraged, and as other people discover the prospects I think we shall have a viable proposition. So if you’re interested having looked at the site, please drop a line to punchbowl@freeuk.com, or The Punchbowl, Hurstpierpoint College, West Sussex, UK, BN6 9JS, Phone: 01273 835759. Thanks, Richard Wright"

For the die-hard children’s literature enthusiast, there’s also Girlsown, an e-mail list for trading thoughts about children's books with a focus on girls' school stories (and occasional forays into other fascinating subjects like food!)  We both subscribe, but be warned - unless you want 60-odd e-mails a day in your inbox, treat with care ! Click here if you want to see about subscribing to Girlsown.

We will be setting up pages about our favourite authors when we get around to it; in the meantime, the Friends of the Chalet School  web site is just one that has links to sites with plenty of information about the various authors.  For those completists among you, there are of course several "new" Chalet books - click here to find out more

Folly Magazine (general children’s, especially girls', stories):   sae/irc to Sue Sims, 21 Warwick Road, Pokesdown, Bournemouth BH7 6JW, UK   email Folly at Sue@sims.abel.co.uk

Enid Blyton; Enid Blyton Literary Society:  sae/irc to Norman Wright, 60 Eastbury Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD1 4JL, UK

Elinor Brent-Dyer

Friends of the Chalet School: sae/irc to Ann Mackie-Hunter or Clarissa Cridland, 4 Rock Terrace, Coleford, Bath BA3 5NF or e-mail them at focs@rockterrace.demon.co.uk

The New Chalet Club:  sae/irc to Carol Mee, 23 Spencer Terrace, Blucher, nr Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE15 9SJ or e-mail them at ncc@tanquen.powernet.co.uk

Dorita Fairlie Bruce:  Serendipity:  sae/irc to Carolyn Denman, 3 Dudwell Cottages, Camrose, Haverfordwest, Dyfed, SA62 6HJ, UK. Eva Lofgren has created a DFB homepage with a short biography, bibliography, who's who in the stories, etc.

Richmal Crompton:  Just William Society:  sae/irc to The Treasurer, c/o Black Cat Bookshop, 36-39 Silver Arcade, leicester LE1 5FB, UK. There is also a site with information about Richmal Crompton and the Just William books, if you want to know more now.