Lavinia Derwent was the pen name of the Scottish author and broadcaster Elizabeth Dodd MBE (1909–1989).[1] She was born in an isolated farmhouse in the Cheviot Hills some seven miles from Jedburgh and began making up stories about animals at an early age. She also wrote a version of Greyfriars Bobby. Her autobiographical books include her Border and Manse series. Border Bairn is set around Jedburgh, while Lady of the Manse has a Berwickshire setting. Derwent's Manse books drew on her experiences keeping house for her Church of Scotland minister brother.[2][3]

Lavinia Derwent
BornElizabeth Dodd
1909
Cheviot Hills, Scotland
Died1989
Pen nameLavinia Derwent
OccupationWriter and broadcaster
NationalityBritish
GenreChildren's fiction, adult fiction
Notable worksThe Sula quartet

Broadcasting

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Derwent's first successes were her Tammy Troot stories, which were read out in the 1920s on Auntie Kathleen's Children's Hour on Scottish Radio.[4] The first of the books was published in 1947. They were still being reprinted in the 1970s, when Derwent, alternating with Molly Weir and Cliff Hanley, co-presented the series Teatime Tales on the STV (TV network), recalling stories taken from her own childhood.[1]

The Sula books

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Derwent books about a fictional island called Sula later featured in BBC's Jackanory, read by John Cairney.[5] These were also made into a television series.

The original novels were: Sula,[6] Return to Sula,[7] The Boy From Sula[8] and Song of Sula.[9]

Bibliography

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  • ”My Own Book of Birds” (1937)
  • Tammy Troot (1947)
  • Tammy Troot's Capers (1947)
  • Huffy Puffy the little red engine (1951)
  • Macpherson (1961)
  • Further Adventures of Tammy Troot (1975)
  • Sula (1969)
  • Return to Sula (1971)
  • The Boy from Sula (1973)
  • Song of Sula (1976)
  • Macpherson's Island (1970)
  • Macpherson's Skyscraper (1978)
  • A Breath of Border Air (1977)
  • Another Breath of Border Air (1978)
  • God Bless the Borders (1981)
  • A Border Bairn (1980)
  • Beyond the Borders (1989)
  • The Tale of Greyfriars Bobby (1985)
  • The Lady of the Manse (1985)
  • A Mouse in the Manse (1987)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lavinia Derwent – 1909 – 1989". Jedburgh Historic Town. 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Elizabeth Dodd (Lavinia Derwent)". Scottish Literary Locations. 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. ^ Moira Burgess: "Dodd, Elizabeth (pseud. Lavinia Derwent)", ODNB (Oxford, UK, 2005). Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Lavinia Derwent". Books from Scotland – The Best of Scottish Books. 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Radio Times 1923 – 2009". BBC. 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  6. ^ Derwent, Lavinia (1969). Sula. Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 0862410681.
  7. ^ Derwent, Lavinia (1971). Return to Sula. Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 0862410738.
  8. ^ Derwent, Lavinia (1973). The Boy from Sula. Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 9780863154003.
  9. ^ Derwent, Lavinia (1976). Song of Sula. Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 9780863154386.