Saffy's angel series
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Hilary McKay
Born
in Boston, Lincolnshire, The United KingdomJune 12, 1959
Website
http://www.hilarymckay.co.uk
Genre
Children's Books
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Hilary McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire and is the eldest of four girls. From a very early age she read voraciously and grew up in a household of readers. Hilary says of herself as a child "I anaesthetised myself against the big bad world with large doses of literature. The local library was as familiar to me as my own home."
After reading Botany and Zoology at St. Andrew's University Hilary then went on to work as a biochemist in an Analysis Department. Hilary enjoyed the work but at the same time had a burning desire to write. After the birth of her two children, Hilary wanted to devote more time to bringing up her children and writing so decided to leave her job.
One of the best things about being a writer, says Hilary, is receiving Hilary McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire and is the eldest of four girls. From a very early age she read voraciously and grew up in a household of readers.
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Biography
I was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, the eldest of four girls. I grew up in a household of readers. That sounds peaceful, but it wasn't. Far from it, at times and thank goodness for my local library, a few steps from my primary school. It was a grim dark building, steel shelves, squeaking floors, a smell of dust, and a place where children could confidently expect to be glared into silence at the slightest remark. I absolutely adored it. These days, my local library is an eighteen mile round trip away. How do poor children in need of peace and quiet survive? I was so lucky to have it. It is so shameful that they do not.
Anyway, to continue. I went to school. I remember three good teachers and many dreadful ones. The three goods were: Mrs Robinson who taught us music, willy nilly, whether we liked it or not. Mrs Rule, who believed we could do anything, got me writing my first book, read aloud to us, brought in her pets for our entertainment, and was, and is still, my unthanked heroine. Thank you, Mrs Rule. Mr Leggott, who made maths not only possible, but easy
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Hilary McKay
About Author
Hilary McKay is an award-winning author, having won the Guardian Fiction Prize for her first novel, The Exiles, and going on to win the Smarties and the Whitbread (now the Costa) Award for The Exiles in Love and Saffy's Angel.
Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales was her first book with Macmillan Children's Books and is a critically acclaimed collection of clever retellings. Her 2018 title The Skylarks' War marks the centenary of the end of the First World War and is a classic in the making.
Interview
The Swallows' Flight (Macmillan Children's Books)
May 2021
The Skylarks' War, published in 2018 by Macmillan Children's Books, follows three children, Clarry, Peter and Rupert, as they leave behind their childhoods and move into adulthood, just as World War I begins.
The Swallows' Flight continues the story, with the next generation of children and a family in Berlin, on the eve of World War II. Like her earlier novel, The Swallows' Flight shines a compassionate light on family, friendship and the courage shown by so many during a terrible chapter i
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