Hazel Townson

Hazel Townson (12 April 1928 – 11 October 2010) was an English children's-literature author. She had over fifty books published from 1975 onwards, including in countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, France and Japan.

Career

Hazel Townson began her writing career with Punch magazine, for which she was a regular contributor for many years. The magazine invited her to write reviews of children's books, which would eventually lead to her writing her own material. She also worked as Chief Assistant Librarian for part of Greater Manchester, a role that included responsibility for libraries in 110 schools, eleven public children's libraries, and four colleges.^[1]

Her first book, entitled Looking for Lossie, was published in 1975. As of 1998, Townson published books totalled 55. These ranged from picture books to teenage novels. Some of Townson's books, such as The Speckled Panic and Terrible Tuesday, have been adapted for television. She also had stories commissioned for Granada Television's Time for a Story, Tickle on the Tum and Story World programmes.

In an article for Books for Keeps, Townson wrote: "I've been lucky with my illustrators. For instance, Philippe Dupasquier and Tony Ross both have the exact measure of childhood, felicitous touches of humour and an apparently total recall of their own early days. Each of their illustrations can be dwelt upon lovingly to extract from it more and more delicious detail - such as one of Tony Ross's illustrations for Terrible Tuesday, which shows gunmen threatening a bank manager on the steps of his bank. Not only does the bank manager have his hands up in surrender, but also the passing baby in its pram and the statue in the road outside. Even a dog has raised its front paws, and the birds their wings."^[2]

She frequently visited schools, libraries, colleges and writers' groups to talk about children's literature and to assist with creative writing. Following its formation in 1985, Townson chaired the panel for the annual "Lancashire Children's Book of the Year" award.^[3]

Personal life

Born in Nelson, Lancashire, Townson was brought up in the Pendle valley. She attended Accrington High School and then studied English at the University of Leeds. She was a widow to Kenneth Smith; mother to Christopher and Catherine; grandmother to John, Vickie, Max and Clea; and great-grandmother to Leon. Townson died on 11 October 2010, surrounded by family, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Bibliography

The Lenny and Jake series

• The Great Ice-Cream Crime (1981)
• The Siege of Cobb Street School (1983)
• The Vanishing Gran (1983)
• Haunted Ivy (1984)
• The Crimson Crescent (1986)
• The Staggering Snowman (1987)
• Fireworks Galore! (1988)
• Walnut Whirl (1989)
• Hopping Mad (1991)
• The Kidnap Report (1992)
• A Night on Smugglers' Island (1993)
• The Sign of the Crab (1994)
• Cats and Burglars (1995)
• The Clue of the Missing Cufflink (1996)
• Trouble on the Train (1997)

Tiger Young Readers' Series

• Through the Witch's Window (1989)
• Amos Shrike, the School Ghost (1990)
• Snakes Alive (1991)
• Blue Magic (1992)

The Speckled Panic Series

• The Speckled Panic (1982)
• The Choking Peril (1985)
• Hot Stuff (1991)
• The One-Day Millionaires (1995)
• Coughdrop Calamity (1995)

Picture books

• What on Earth...?
• Terrible Tuesday

Other titles

• Pilkie's Progress (1988)
• Who's Afraid of the Evil Eye (1994)
• The Moving Statue
• The Deathwood Letters (2003)
• The Secret of Celia
• Two Weird Weeks (2003)
• Disaster Bag
• Rumpus on the Roof
• Trouble Doubled
• The Peckthorn Monster
• The Shrieking Face
• Your Dad, My Mum (2001)
• Ignorance is Bliss (2001)
• Invisible Boy (2002)
• Diamond Hunt (2003)
• The Adventures of a Lottery Winner (2004)
• Shots in the Dark (2004)
• The Secret Room (2004)
• Danny - Don't Jump (2005)
• Snakes Alive! and Other Stories (2005)
• Dark Deeds at Deathwood: Deathwood Letters 2 (2006)
• Vanishing Village (2007)
• Deathwood Damian Strikes Again (2008)

References