10 Interesting Joan Aiken Facts
Joan Aiken Facts give the information about an English writer. She was born on September 4th, 1924 and died on January 4th, 2004. Due to her contribution in the literature for children, Aiken earned an MBE in 1999. She was known as a writer for alternative historical novels for children and supernatural fiction.
Joan Aiken Facts 1: the famous work
One of the famous works of Aiken was For the Whispering Mountain. In 1968, Jonathan Cape published it. It made her earned the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize.
Joan Aiken Facts 2: Night Fall
Night Fall by Aiken earned an Edgar Allan Poe Award. The book was published in 1972.
Joan Aiken Facts 3: the birthplace
The birthplace of Aiken was located in Mermaid Street in Rye, Sussex. Conrad Aiken was the father of Joan. Her father was a Pulitzer-winning author. Jane Aiken Hodge was her older sister who also worked as a writer. John Aiken, her older brother was also known as a writer. Look at facts about William Wordsworth here.
Joan Aiken Facts 4: mother
Jessie MacDonald was the mother of Aiken. In 1929, the marriage of her parents was dissolved. In 1930, her mother married Martin Armstrong, an English writer.
Joan Aiken Facts 5: writing for her father
Joan along with Jane and John wrote a short appreciation for their father under the title Conrad Aiken Remembered. It was published in 1989.
Joan Aiken Facts 6: education
Until she was 12 years old, she received her education at home. Her mother became her teacher. Then she attended Wychwood School for girls in Oxford in 1936 until 1940.
Joan Aiken Facts 7: the first full-length novel
The first full length of Aiken was completed when she was only 16 years old. At the age of 17, her first short story was published.
Joan Aiken Facts 8: the first children story
BBC’s Children’s Hour broadcasted the first story of Aiken for children in 1941. Get facts about Aaron Copland here.
Joan Aiken Facts 9: personal life
Her husband was Ronald George Brown. The couple married in 1945. He was a journalist at UNIC or United Nations Information Centre. In 1943 until 1949, Aiken worked there. The couple was blessed with two kids.
Joan Aiken Facts 10: the next career
In 1955, her husband died. Aiken was hired by Argosy after the death of her husband. At first, she was employed for editorial issues. Then she became the writer for the magazine. In 1955 until 1960, she published short stories in Argosy. During her work here, she started to work on Bonnie Green, her children novel. It was re-titled into The Wolves of Willoughby Chase upon its publication in 1962.
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