Robert Leeson

Robert Arthur Leeson (31 March 1928, Northwich, Cheshire[1] – 29 September 2013)[2] was an English author, mainly known for his children's books. Before becoming a writer, he worked as Literary Editor of the left-wing British newspaper the Morning Star.[3]

Leeson was a prolific writer, having had more than 70 books for young people published between 1973 and 2003. His books include several historical novels, such as Beyond the Dragon Prow, about a crippled Viking boy.[4] Leeson produced a trilogy about a British family in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: Maroon Boy (1974), Bess, and The White Horse (1977). The White Horse revolves around a young man who fights on the Roundhead side during the English Civil War.[5] Leeson also wrote The Third Class Genie (1975) (a humorous fantasy novel), and the science-fiction Time Rope (1986) and Zania Experiment (1993) series.[3][4] Leeson wrote social realist novels such as It's My Life (1980), about a teenage girl who has to look after her family after her mother walks out on them.[3] Silver's Revenge is a humorous sequel to Treasure Island, and Candy for the King is a fairytale about a giant influenced by Voltaire's Candide.[4] Leeson's Reading and Righting: the past, present and future of Fiction for the young (1985) is a history of children's literature. He also wrote for radio, television and the theatre.