Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
July 1, 2014/in Obituary /by Angie Hill
This article is featured in BfK 207 July 2014
This article is in the Obituary Category

Obituary: Josephine Pullein-Thompson

Author: Jennifer Luithlen

Josephine Pullein-Thompson

1924-2014

Popular author of numerous pony novels and adult crime fiction, Josephine Pullein-Thompson died on 3 June aged ninety. Josephine’s first pony novel, It Began With Picotee was written with her sisters Christine and Diana and was published by A&C Black in 1946. She went on to write many trilogies, series and single titles in the pony genre, delighting thousands of pony-mad fans.

I first met Josephine in the mid 1970s during my time at Brockhampton Press in Leicester, where as Rights Manager I sold her novels into several translations. At that time she was writing for the Black Beauty series (Random House) and also the successful Moor series of pony adventures. Josephine became one of my clients for her children’s fiction in the late 1980s when I set up my own literary agency. Her novels continued to be in demand here and in translation. I enjoyed visiting her at her Fulham house and remember fondly her chuckle and mischievous smile.

Josephine was General Secretary and then President of PEN International and was awarded an MBE in 1984.

Fair Girls and Grey Horses, written collectively by the three Pullein-Thompson sisters, is a wonderful autobiography detailing their eccentric childhood and the story of how they became writers. Originally published as a hardback by Allison& Busby it has now been re-issued this July 2014 as a paperback and ebook.

Jennifer Luithlen

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2014-07-01 09:07:002021-11-28 19:16:50Obituary: Josephine Pullein-Thompson
Download BfK Issue Bfk 272 May 2025
Skip to an Issue:

Related Articles

Obituary: Morag Styles 1947-2024
Bfk 270 January 2025
Obituary Niki Daly
Bfk 265 March 2024
Obituary: Benjamin Zephaniah
BfK 264 January 2024
Obituary: K M Peyton
BfK 264 January 2024
Marcus Sedgwick
BfK 259 March 2023
Obituary: Joan Lingard
BfK 256 September 2022
Obituary: Shirley Hughes
BfK 253 March 2022
Obituary: Victor Ambrus
BfK 247 March 2021

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Margaret McDonald and her editors Alice Swan and Ama Badu win the 2025 Branford Boase Award

July 9, 2025

‘The magic of poetry by heart’ Champions of the 2025 National Poetry Speaking Competition Announced

July 8, 2025
IBC

New National Year of Reading launching January 2026

July 8, 2025

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2025 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
I Wish I’d Written: Natasha Farrant BfK News: July 2014
Scroll to top