Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
November 1, 2011/in Non Fiction Books About Children's Books /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 191 November 2011
Reviewer: Janet Fisher
ISBN: 978-0857160065
Price: £18.99
Publisher: Northumbria Press
Genre: Non Fiction
Age Range: Books About Children's Books
Length: 260pp
Buy the Book

Through the Magic Door: Ursula Moray Williams, Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse

Author: Colin Davison

Colin Davison was interviewed on Woman’s Hour about this book a few weeks ago when an extract of an interview with Ursula Moray Williams was also played.  She came across as a feisty and independent woman who would have been great fun to meet and this is the portrait which emerges from this biography.  Born in 1911 one of twins (her sister Barbara was also hugely talented), the girls and their brother Alan grew up in an ruined house in the Hampshire countryside, part of a clever extended family, which included their mother’s brother, Sir Stanley Unwin the publisher.  Their unconventional upbringing in the ruined and very cold house whose rooms they often had to vacate, tutored at home, not very well off but always aware of their station in life, made for two singular girls. Both drew and Ursula wrote stories from a very early age. Barbara became a well known artist and moved to Iceland with her husband; Ursula married Peter John.  This very happy marriage which produced four sons, gave her the financial security to write and from 1931 to 1987 she wrote 68 books, including the critically acclaimed Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse and Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat, both of which I well remember reading to my own children.

Colin Davison covers extensively the writing of all of these titles alongside the events of Ursula’s life. These include the war when she appears to have refused to let her husband rejoin the RAF.  Peter was in a reserved occupation but evidently wanted to fight.  There are glimpses of the strict regime at home which he ran, but also of the very happy marriage which ended with his death in 1974.  Typically Ursula carried on her life, with writing, visits to and from friends, although she could be outspoken and forthright which upset people sometimes.  One of the most interesting episodes in the book is her involvement with Kaye Webb and the Puffin Club.  Ursula was an enthusiastic supporter and joined in all the fun. In fact fun is the word which comes to mind on reading this book, as she never lost the sense of being a child and more importantly intuitively understanding what a child would like, both in her stories and in her relationships with them.

Inevitably this understanding could not move with the times, but Ursula Moray Williams will be remembered for the two books which appear in the title and on the splendid cover of this book.  There are one or two typos in the rather dense looking text, but some lovely illustrations of her drawings which remind the reader of her talent in this direction.

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 Hill2011-11-01 00:00:262022-01-25 17:37:56Through the Magic Door: Ursula Moray Williams, Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

Download BfK Issue BfK 253 March 2022
Skip to an Issue:

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

Diverse, accessible, essential: shortlist announced for the CLiPPA 2022

May 4, 2022

The 2022 Little Rebels Award Shortlist

May 3, 2022

Longlist for 2022 Information Book Award Announced

April 29, 2022

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 2022 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
The Power of Six Ready Steady Ghost!
Scroll to top