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Noel Streatfeild

(Mary Noel Streatfeild)
UK  (1895 - 1986)
aka
Susan Scarlett
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About Noel Streatfeild
Noel Streatfeild was born in Amberley, Sussex, the second daughter of a clergyman. Her older sister was pretty and delicate, her younger sister clever and beautiful - Noel saw herself as the plain one and made her mark by being quite rebellious. She always shone in the plays she and her sisters put on for her father's parish causes. She worked in a munitions factory during World War I and after the war went off to train as an actress. Her ten years on the stage were not very successful but they gave her valuable knowledge of theatre life to use later in her books.

Noel claimed to have a 'blotting paper memory' that was the secret of her success as a writer. She could think herself back into childhood and recall the delights of pets and holidays and Christmas - as well as the miseries of being snubbed, overlooked and excluded. She wrote 58 books for children; many are still in print, including her most popular title Ballet Shoes. In her best books the reader has the experience of living intensely with the child characters, understanding exactly how they feel about things, and why --perhaps this is why her books still seem alive to young readers 50 years after they were written.

Noel Streatfeild was astonished by the success of Ballet Shoes, her first book for children. Its acclaim was perhaps due to its originality. She wrote about hard-working, money-conscious, professional children unlike the amateurish, country-house heroes and heroines of most children's stories of the time. The Fossil sisters in Ballet Shoes are lively, well-drawn characters; they live in their readers' imaginations, long after the last page has been turned.
 
Series
The Bell FamilyNew Town: A Story About the Bell Family
 
Gemma
Gemma and Sisters (1968)
Gemma Alone (1969)
     aka Gemma the Star
Good-Bye Gemma (1969)
     aka Gemma in Love
Gemma (1973)
Gemma and SistersGemma AloneGood-Bye GemmaGemma
 
Margaret Thursday
1. Thursday's Child (1970)
2. Far to Go (1976)
Thursday's ChildFar to Go
 
Meet the MaitlandsAll Change At Cuckly Place
 
Novels
The Whicharts (1931)
Parson's Nine (1933)
Tops and Bottoms (1933)
The Children's Matinee (1934)
A Shepherdess of Sheep (1934)
It Pays to Be Good (1936)
Ballet Shoes (1936)
Caroline England (1937)
Tennis Shoes (1937)
The Circus is Coming (1938)
     aka Circus Shoes
Dennis the Dragon (1939)
Clothes Pegs (1939)
Luke (1939)
Sally-Ann (1939)
The House in Cornwall (1940)
     aka The Secret of the Lodge
Peter and Paul (1940)
Ten-Way Street (1940)
The Winter is Past (1940)
The Children of Primrose Lane (1941)
     aka The Stranger in Primrose Lane
Babbacombe's (1941)
The Man in the Dark (1941)
I Ordered a Table for Six (1942)
Under the Rainbow (1942)
Harlequinade (1943)
Summer Pudding (1943)
Myra Carrol (1944)
Curtain Up (1944)
     aka Theater Shoes
Murder While You Work (1944)
Saplings (1945)
Party Frock (1946)
     aka Party Shoes
Grass in Piccadilly (1947)
Pirouette (1948)
The Painted Garden (1949)
     aka Movie Shoes
Mothering Sunday (1950)
Osbert (1950)
White Boots (1951)
The Theater Cat (1951)
Aunt Clara (1952)
The Fearless Treasure (1953)
Family Shoes (1954)
The Grey Family (1956)
Judith (1956)
Wintle's Wonders (1957)
     aka Dancing Shoes
Christmas with Chrystals (1959)
Bertram (1959)
The Silent Speaker (1961)
Apple Bough (1962)
     aka Traveling Shoes
Lisa Goes to Russia (1963)
The Children On the Top Floor (1964)
Skating Shoes (1964)
Let's Go Coaching (1965)
The Growing Summer (1966)
     aka The Magic Summer
Old Chairs to Mend (1966)
Caldicott Place (1967)
     aka The Family at Caldicott Place
Barrow Lane Gang (1968)
Nicholas (1968)
The Circus (1969)
Ballet (1970)
Ballet Shoes for Anna (1972)
When the Siren Wailed (1974)
Ballet ShoesTennis ShoesThe Circus is ComingThe House in Cornwall
The Children of Primrose LaneHarlequinadeCurtain UpSaplings
Party FrockThe Painted GardenMothering SundayWhite Boots
The Theater CatAunt ClaraThe Fearless TreasureFamily Shoes
Wintle's WondersBertramApple BoughLisa Goes to Russia
Skating ShoesThe Growing SummerOld Chairs to MendCaldicott Place
Ballet Shoes for AnnaWhen the Siren Wailed
 
Omnibus
White Boots / Ballet Shoes for Anna / Thursday's Child
 
Collections
Summer Holiday Book
 

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