Obituary: Diana Ross

Diana Ross

1910-2000

Diana Ross’s Little Red Engine series (see Classics in Short, in this issue) began as a goodnight story for her nephew who lived in a house above a railway cutting on a branch line. As a child she had told stories to her brother and sister and this awareness of the listener shaped her style, cf the memorable rendition of the noises of the trains (‘chuffa chuffa chuff’, dig-a-dig-dig’). Ross also wrote magical tales for older readers.