Quick Facts
Biography
Lynne Reid Banks (born 31 July 1929) is a British author of books for children and adults.
She has written forty-five books, including the best-selling children's novel The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 10 million copies and has been successfully adapted to film. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, published in 1960, was an instant and lasting best seller. The L-Shaped Room was later made into a movie of the same name and led to two sequels, The Backward Shadow and Two is Lonely. Banks also wrote a biography of the Brontë family, entitled Dark Quartet, and a sequel about Charlotte Brontë, Path to the Silent Country.
Life
Banks was born in London, the only child of James and Muriel Reid Banks. She was evacuated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during World War II and returned after the war was over. She attended St Teresa's School in Surrey. Prior to becoming a writer, Banks was an actress, and also worked as a television journalist in Britain, one of the first women to do so.
In 1962 Banks emigrated to Israel, where she taught for eight years on an Israeli kibbutz Yas'ur. In 1965 she married Chaim Stephenson, a sculptor, with whom she had three sons; Adiel, Gillon and Omri Stephenson with whom she has recently collaborated on two picture books (see below). She now lives with her husband in Shepperton, near London, UK.
Although the family returned to England in 1971, the influence of her time in Israel can be seen in some of her books (including One More River and its sequel, Broken Bridge - and other books such as An End to Running and Children at the Gate) which are set partially or mainly on kibbutzim.
In October 2013, Lynne won the J. M. Barrie award for outstanding contribution to children's arts.
Works
Children's novels
- The Farthest-Away Mountain, illus. Victor Ambrus (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1976); US ed., 1977; also illus. Dave Henderson
- The Adventures of King Midas, illustrated by George Him (J.M. Dent, 1976), LCCN 76-379385; illus. Jos. A. Smith (William Morrow & Co, 1992), LCCN 92-3795
- The Indian in the Cupboard, numerous illustrators
- The Indian in the Cupboard (1980)
- The Return of the Indian (1985)
- The Secret of the Indian (1989)
- The Mystery of the Cupboard (1993)
- The Key to the Indian (1998)
- The Fairy Rebel, illus. William Geldart (1985); US ed., 19
- Harry the Poisonous Centipede, illustrated by Tony Ross
- Harry the Poisonous Centipede: a story to make you squirm (1997)
- Harry the Poisonous Centipede's Big Adventure (2001)
- Harry the Poisonous Centipede Goes to Sea (2006)
- I, Houdini: The Autobiography of a Self-Educated Hamster, illus. Terry Riley (J.M. Dent, 1978); US ed., 1988
- Angela and Diabola (1997)
- Alice-By-Accident (2000)
- Tiger, Tiger (2005)
- Bad Cat Good Cat, illus. Tony Ross (2011)
- Ella and her bad Yellow T-Shirt, illus. Omri Stephenson (OGS, 2011)
- The Wrong-Coloured Dragon (Kindle, 2012)
- Uprooted: a Canadian war story (HarperCollins, 2014), OCLC 881018287
- Short stories
- The Magic Hare, illus. Barry Moser (1993); also illus. Hilda Offen
- Sarah and After: the matriarchs (The Bodley Head, 1975) LCCN 75-318081; US title, Sarah and After: five women who founded a nation – Bible stories
- Older readers
- One More River (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 1973)
- My Darling Villain (Bodley Head, 1977); US ed., 1986
- The Writing on the Wall (1982) ?88
- Melusine: a mystery (1988); US ed., 1989
- One More River, revised edition (NY: William Morrow, 1992), LCCN 91-43152
- Broken Bridge; US ed., 1994 (revised?) LCCN 94-26636 – sequel to One More River
- Maura's Angel (1998)
- Moses in Egypt: a novel inspired by the Prince of Egypt and the book of Exodus (1998) LCCN 99-190535
- The Dungeon (2002)
- Stealing Stacey (2004)
Adult novels
- All in a Row: a comedy in three acts (London: Deane, 1956), LCCN 56-41380
- The L-Shaped Room (Chatto & Windus, 1960); US ed., 1961
- An End to Running (Chatto & Windus, 1962)
- House of Hope (1962)
- Children at the Gate (Chatto & Windus, 1968)
- The Backward Shadow (1970) – sequel to The L-Shaped Room
- Two is Lonely (1974) – completes the L-Shaped Room trilogy
- Dark Quartet: the story of the Brontës (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976); US ed., 1977 – Biographical fiction
- Path to the Silent Country: Charlotte Brontë's years of fame (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977); US ed., 1978
- Defy the Wilderness (Chatto & Windus, 1981)
- The Warning Bell (Hamish Hamilton, 1984); US ed., 1986
- Casualties (1986); US ed., 1987
- Fair Exchange (London: Piatkus, 1998)
Non-fiction
- Letters to My Israeli Sons: the story of Jewish survival (W. H. Allen Ltd, 1979), LCCN 80-455044
- Torn Country: an oral history of the Israeli war of independence (New York: Franklin Watts, 1982)
Picture books
- The Spice Rack, illus. Omri Stephenson (OGS Designs, 2010)
- Polly and Jake, illus. Omri Stephenson (OGS, 2010)