Date de naissance: 1911-09-23
Date de décès: 1996
Sexe: female
Nationalité: UK
Lieu de naissance: Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
Lieu du décès: Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, UK
Études: Oldershaw High School
Professions: children's book author
young adult writer
Courte biographie: Gwendoline Courtney was born near Southampton, the younger daughter of Edwin Courtney, an antiques dealer, and Joanna nee Potter. Although there seem to have been no professional writers among her forebears, Arthur Mee was a distant cousin and among her first cousins was Phyllis Norris, who wrote 8 girls books. Gwendoline failed to matriculate because of ill health and may have trained as a secretary; she seems to have worked for some time in her father's office. During the second world war she worked in Lord Goodman's office and prided herself on being the only civilian to work on Operation Overlord. She suffered an ear injury from a bomb blast that made noise hard to bear and later moved around a great deal.

Membres

Critiques

Sally's Family par Gwendoline Courtney

Gift from LibraryThing Secret Santa. First book I've been certain I'm keeping in a while. I love it all - the characterisation, the historical knowledge, the psychological impact of being moved around by war, the nice friendly sorts who rally round... It's a happy comforting book but also a little interesting.

Signalé

lydiasbooks | 2 autres critiques | Jan 17, 2018 |

Sally's Family par Gwendoline Courtney

This is a great read with a lot of depth. Sally's siblings were separated during the Second World War and sent to various homes, when Sally finds out her father's dying wish is to have them all reunited again, she rents a house and sends for her brothers and sisters scattered all over the country. When they come back, they all realise they've all grown a lot during those years and while they try and find ways to bond as a family again, they all grow into fully fleshed, interesting people. It's a touching and very comforting story with lots of details about cooking, sewing, gardening and housekeeping, which I loved. I also really enjoyed that every child has a personality of his or her own and you can easily tell them apart, which also means that Courtney makes sure all of their different skills are valued. It has some interesting insight about the evacuation of children and the characters are an absolute delight. While Sally is the main character, my favourite sibling ended up being Lucy, a smart bookworm with a good deal of common sense who ends up choosing an unexpected career path. It's a very strong book and while it was my first by Courtney, it certainly won't be the last.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

RubyScarlett | 2 autres critiques | Nov 11, 2013 |

Mermaid House par Gwendoline Courtney

Four children go to Cornwall to stay with a Great Aunt they don't really know. There is a mystery involving a mermaid and smugglers. Everything comes right in the end.

This was not my favorite of her books. I tend to prefer the cosy family stories Nothing wrong with it but it took me a long time to figure out what was going on.

Signalé

matamgirl | Apr 3, 2013 |