Issue 26 Spring 1999
A Trubute to Henrietta Branford: Touching People's Lives
Anne Marley

On a balmy May evening in early May, around 400 people gathered in Southampton Art Gallery to pay tribute to Henrietta Branford, one of the best authors to grace the children's book world in the 1990s. She died on World Book Day from breast cancer.

The tributes were from family and friends and were incredibly moving, though as Henrietta herself had wanted this to be a 'celebration', the memories were warm, amusing and poignant. Everyone, it seemed, loved Henrietta, and everyone had a story to tell. She had that type of personality; engaging, honest, direct, caring and very straight speaking. There were also tributes from people in the book world - Gina Pollinger, (whose tribute was read by Julia Eccleshare), Philip Pullman, Sandra Horn, (who was one of the writers in the group she attended) and Julia Eccleshare, speaking in her own right. All her publishers were there; major figures in the children's book world - David Lloyd from Walker and David Fickling from Scholastic, along with author Michael Morpurgo. There were also the heads of several Children's and Schools' Library services, as well as teachers and students, who wanted to pay their respects to this remarkable woman.

Henrietta endured painful and very unpleasant treatment, but throughout her illness but she was determined to beat it and carry on writing. Her courage was indefatigable - she railed against the cancer and fought it hard, but was realistic about her future. What she needed was more time, not only for her husband and three children, but also for her writing.

Henrietta came late to writing, only starting in her forties, once her children were in school. She gave herself a year to write, joined a local writers group, and never looked back. The distinguished literary agent, Gina Pollinger recognised her talent immediately and took her on to her books. In the comparatively short time she was writing, she won numerous awards - a Smarties Prize for Dimanche Diller in 1994, and Fire, Bed and Bone won both a Smarties Prize and the very prestigious Guardian Award, whilst also being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal.

If her books have a common thread, it is that of exploring courage through her characters. Whether her characters are human, the feisty strong girls coping on their own, like Dimanche Diller, or the narrator of Fire, Bed and Bone, who happens to be a dog at the time of the Peasants' Revolt, they share the enduring trait of courage, which she herself prized above all things.

Henrietta continued to write as much as she could, even as time was running out. The books to be published after her death will be a fitting testament to a writer with a marvellous talent for telling wonderful stories.

Through her books, and for those of us who were privileged to know her personally, she touched our lives in a unique way. Everyone who knew her said what a memorable presence she had, this from a seemingly unassuming, modest woman who came late to the book world. But her personality was so strong you couldn't help but take notice of her and her passion for children and books. She detested television and felt strongly that children should be encouraged, coaxed, and coached to read. "I doubt the value of giving children books without substance to read on the grounds that at least they are reading something," she said, "just as I doubt if eating burgers and chips teaches a love of good food."

Quite remarkably, a number of people in the children's book world have simultaneously suggested that this wonderful writer be celebrated after her death. There are already plans afoot to designate a new award in Henrietta's name, which will be a tremendous commemoration of a brilliant writer whose time was all too short. However, her writing will live on and undoubtedly, books like Fire, Bed and Bone and The Fated Sky will become favourites of generations of children still to come.