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Nina Bawden

ニーナ・ボーデン

Nīna Bōden

Aliases: Nina Mary Bawden / Nina Mary Mabey

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1925-01-19 （Ilford, Essex）
Died
2012-08-22 （Islington, London） age 87
Nationality
English
Languages
English
Religion
Unknown
Residence History
Ilford, Essex (childhood) → Aberdare, Wales (WWII evacuation) → Shropshire (school holidays) → Oxford (university) → London, Islington (later life)

Career

Occupations
novelist, children's writer
Active Years
1953-2004
Memberships
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), Justice of the Peace (JP)
Nominations
1987 Booker Prize shortlist - Circles of Deceit, 2010 Lost Man Booker Prize shortlist - The Birds on the Trees, 1995 WH Smith Mind-Boggling Book Award shortlist - The Real Plato Jones, 1996 Carnegie Medal shortlist - Granny the Pag

Education

Ilford County High School for Girls
Country: England
Somerville College, Oxford
Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Degree: BA (1946), MA (1951)
Period: 1942-1946
Year of Graduation: 1951
Country: England
Studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Awards

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
1976
Work: The Peppermint Pig
Category: Children's Fiction
Organization: The Guardian
Result: Winner
Phoenix Award
1993
Work: Carrie's War
Organization: Children's Literature Association
Result: Winner
Golden PEN Award
2004
Work: Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature
Organization: English PEN
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Carrie's War

1973 Children's literature

Siblings evacuated to a Welsh country town during World War II and their encounters with locals.

warfamilyevacuation
Adaptations
  • [TV series] Carrie's War / John McKenzie (1974)
  • [TV series] Carrie's War / Coky Giedroyc (2004)

The Peppermint Pig

1975 Children's literature

A girl's coming-of-age in early 20th-century England as her family faces hardship.

family breakdowngrowthclass

The Birds on the Trees

1970 Novel

A mother's anguish as her son runs away to join hippies.

familyanti-wargenerational gap

Circles of Deceit

1987 Novel

A family entangled in deceit and secrets.

deceitfamily

Bibliography

  • Who Calls the Tune?
  • The Odd Flamingo
  • Change Here for Babylon
  • The Solitary Child
  • Devil by the Sea
  • Just Like a Lady
  • In Honour Bound
  • The Secret Passage
  • Tortoise by Candlelight
  • The House of Secrets
  • On the Run
  • Under the Skin
  • A Little Love, A Little Learning
  • The White Horse Gang
  • The Witch's Daughter
  • A Handful of Thieves
  • A Woman of My Age
  • The Grain of Truth
  • The Runaway Summer
  • The Birds on the Trees
  • Squib
  • Anna Apparent
  • Carrie's War
  • George Beneath a Paper Moon
  • The Peppermint Pig
  • Afternoon of a Good Woman
  • Rebel on a Rock
  • Familiar Passions
  • The Robbers
  • Walking Naked
  • William Tell
  • Kept in the Dark
  • The Ice House
  • Saint Francis of Assisi
  • The Finding
  • On the Edge
  • Princess Alice
  • Circles of Deceit
  • Keeping Henry
  • The Outside Child
  • Family Money
  • Humbug
  • The Real Plato Jones
  • In My Own Time: Almost an Autobiography
  • Granny the Pag
  • A Nice Change
  • Off the Road
  • The Ruffian on the Stair
  • Dear Austen

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realisticpsychologically acutechild-centered
Recurring Motifs
family criseswar traumaloss and grief

Health

  • Son's suicide
    1981
    Severe emotional trauma
  • Injuries from Potters Bar rail crash
    2002-
    Seriously injured, lost husband
  • Daughter's death
    2012
    Grief in final months

Legacy

Renowned English children's author known for realistic portrayals of family dramas and wartime experiences. Carrie's War is a classic.

Archives

  • de Grummond Children's Collection, University of Southern Mississippi

In Popular Culture

  • Appears as a character in David Hare's play The Permanent Way based on her rail crash testimony

Trivia

  • Born Nina Mary Mabey.
  • First husband Harry Bawden; two sons. Second husband Austen Kark, former BBC World Service MD.
  • Severely injured in 2002 Potters Bar crash, losing her husband.
  • Served as Justice of the Peace (JP).