Josephine Pullein-Thompson | |
|---|---|
 The sisters, Josephine on the left, c. 1942 | |
| Born | Josephine Mary Wedderburn Pullein-Thompson (1924-04-03)3 April 1924 |
| Died | 19 June 2014(2014-06-19) (aged 90) |
| Other names | Josephine Mann |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | Books about ponies |
Josephine Mary Wedderburn Pullein-ThompsonMBE (3 April 1924 – 19 June 2014), sometimes known asJosephine Mann, was a British writer known for herpony books. She was a leading member of thePony Club andPEN International. Her mother and two sisters,Christine andDiana also wrote and they created a large number of books and many of them were on the theme of horses.
Pullein-Thompson was born on 3 April 1924 into a notable family. Her father, Harold Pullein-Thompson, had theMilitary Cross and her mother,Joanna Cannan, was a prolific and successful author. She was the second child as she had an elder brother who would adopt his mother's name to be a successful playwright of comedies asDenis Cannan. She also had two younger sisters (who were twins) and all the children would be writers.[1]
The family home was a villa in the suburb ofWimbledon where her father would have two seats on the centre court. Her father was badly wounded and in frequent pain, he had earned theMilitary Cross during the war. He had been a teacher before the war but he sold fridges and had a game company.[2] His game company was the first to manufacture the game "Go" under its Chinese name, but it has her mother who made more money writing pony books. The family moved toRotherfield Peppard in Oxfordshire where their large house, The Grove, had its own stables. The girls learned to ride and would compete in events.[2] In time they would describe their country childhood in their joint autobiographyFair Girls and Grey Horses (2014).[3] The girls had an unusual education as distinct from their brother who went toEton College. She was taught by a "mad woman in a hut" and she was rebellious and stubborn. The girls prided themselves on not conforming to expectations.[2]
When she was fifteen and her sisters were fourteen they abandoned education and they started a riding school in wartime Britain.[4] The riding school brought in extra money as the three sisters taught others to ride.[5]
In 1946, she had her first book,Six Ponies, published and the die was cast as she had also helped writeIt Began With Picotee which the three sisters created together in 1941, but published also in 1946.[2] The sisters would write dozens of books and Josephine wrote four dozen herself.
Josephine was vice president of the Woodland Hunt Branch of the BritishPony Club.[4]
She was given theMBE in 1984.[4]
She was the general secretary (1976–93) and then president ofPEN International.[4]
She got the Golden PEN Award in 2007 for her services to literature.[6]
For the last twenty years of his life, she was the devoted companion of the lawyer and authorAnthony Babington. He had been so wounded during the war that his girlfriend abandoned him. He had to regain his voice as that part of his brain was damaged. Until he died in 2004 Babington would travel with Josephine to PEN meetings around the world.[7]
She wrote the adult mystery booksGin and Murder (1959),Murder Strikes Pink (1963) andThey Died In The Spring (1960). She also wrote the bookA Place With Two Faces (1972) under the pseudonym of Josephine Mann.[8]
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