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Jill Murphy

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Jill Murphy
Born(1949-07-05)5 July 1949
London, England
Died18 August 2021(2021-08-18) (aged 72)
St Mabyn, Cornwall, England
OccupationAuthor, illustrator
Alma materChelsea Art School; Croydon School of Art
Years active1970–2021
Notable worksThe Worst Witch series
The Large Family series
Notable awardsKate Greenaway Medal
Smarties Prize
SpousePeter Wilks (div.)
Roger Michell (div.)
Children1

Jill Murphy (5 July 1949 – 18 August 2021) was a British author and illustrator of children's books. First published by Allison & Busby in 1974, she was best known for the Worst Witch novels and Large Family picture books, with sales amounting to several millions. Her books have also been adapted for stage and television. She has been called "one of the most engaging writers and illustrators for children in the land".[1]

Biography

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Early life

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Born in London, the daughter of Reeney (Irene) and Eric Murphy, Jill Murphy was brought up in Chessington, Surrey.[2] Reminiscing about growing up in post-war Britain, she said: "I had a classic 1950s childhood. My mum was at home, because in those days that's what mums did. My dad worked in an aircraft factory. He was up really early in the morning, came home exhausted at night and I didn't really see him".[3] She won a scholarship to the Roman Catholic grammar school in Wimbledon.[4] She showed an interest in writing and drawing at the age of 6; although not excelling in other school subjects, she had made her own enormous library of hand-written and illustrated books while still at primary school.[5] She enjoyed reading boarding-school stories, which provided material and inspiration for Miss Cackle's Academy in the Worst Witch series, as did the Ursuline High School, Wimbledon, which she attended.[6] She grew up as a Roman Catholic, but she did not practise the faith in later years.[7] Her stay-at-home mother was a "book maniac" and her father was an Irish engineer.[8]

The Worst Witch

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Murphy started to write The Worst Witch – "the magical tale of an accident-prone girl attempting to navigate the magical codes and murky corridors of Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches"[7] – while still at school (Murphy admitted to having herself been the model for her protagonist Mildred Hubble),[9] but put the book on hold while she attended Chelsea and Croydon Art Schools.[10] She continued to write it during a year living in a village in Togo, West Africa, and later while working as a nanny back in the UK. After receiving rejection letters from publishers to whom she offered the book (as she recalls, "They said children would be frightened about a school for witches..."),[11] in 1970 when she was 21 she decided to try the new young company Allison & Busby (founded by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby),[12][13] as the result of a series of coincidences involving Murphy having spent time in Ghana, and a friend meeting Ghanaian Margaret Busby at a party in London.[14] Murphy said she was "thrilled to find the publishers were quirky like me",[7] as she further revealed in an interview with The Telegraph: "They accepted it immediately, and printed 5,000 copies, and I remember wondering how many aunts and uncles I had, and what we would do with the rest".[15] The book proved an instant success with both critics and readers (Murphy recalled that she "immediately got a lot of fan letters and the whole thing took off like a rocket"),[2][16] selling out within two months of publication in 1974.[17] Murphy continued working as a nanny until Allison & Busby's publication in 1980 of The Worst Witch Strikes Again prompted her to devote herself to writing full-time.[6]

The Worst Witch stories have become some of the most successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and had sold more than three million copies by 2008,[18] and more than five million worldwide as of 2016.[19] Several adaptations of The Worst Witch were made, starting in 1986 with a television film of the same title, premiering on ITV. It later aired on Disney Channel during the 1990s around the time of Halloween. Other adaptations include an ITV series, broadcast on CITV between 1998 and 2001 (followed by its two spin-offs in 2001 and 2005), and another in 2017 on CBBC.

A musical stage production called The Worst Witch Live, adapted by Emma Reeves from Murphy's original work,[20] was shown at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton as a Christmas show in 2018, and toured the UK in 2019 across some 16 different venues, including at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End from 24 July to 8 September 2019.[21] The show received an Olivier Award for best family show in 2020.[22]

Picture books

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Murphy was also known for picture books, especially the Large Family series, which detail the domestic chaos of an elephant family. First published in 1986, Five Minutes Peace has sold more than five million copies worldwide and has been translated into 19 languages.[23] For the second book, All in One Piece (1987), she was a commended runner-up for the Greenaway Medal from the British Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject (the second of her two commendations).[24][a] The Large Family is now a television series on CBeebies and ABC Kids. In 1996, The Last Noo-Noo was adapted as a play and performed at the Polka Theatre, London.[6]

Murphy also wrote Dear Hound (2009), about a deerhound who goes missing after a storm and the quest for his owners to find him.[25]

Personal life

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Murphy was married and divorced twice, first to Peter Wilks, then to potter Roger Michell. Her son Charlie was born in 1990, from her second marriage.[2][26] She lived in St Mabyn, Cornwall,[7][27][28] where she died in hospital from cancer on 18 August 2021, aged 72.[29][30][31]

Honours and recognition

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In 2007, Murphy received an honorary fellowship from University College Falmouth.[32][33][34]

Book awards

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Year Book Award Achievement
1980 Peace at Last Kate Greenaway Medal — the British Library Association annual award for children's book illustration Commended[24][a]
1986 Five Minutes' Peace Children's Book Award Shortlisted
1987 Five Minutes' Peace Parents Magazine Best Books for Babies Award Winner
1987 All in One Piece Kate Greenaway Medal Commended[24][a]
1987 All in One Piece Children's Book Award Shortlisted
1994 A Quiet Night In Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlisted
1995 The Last Noo-Noo Smarties Prize (ages 0–5) Winner
1995 The Last Noo-Noo English 4–11 Outstanding Children's Book of the Year Shortlisted
1996 The Last Noo-Noo Sheffield Children's Book Award Winner[35]
1996 The Last Noo-Noo Gateshead Gold Award Winner

Works

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Today there are usually eight books on the Greenaway Medal shortlist. According to CCSU, some runners-up were Commended (from 1959) or Highly Commended (from 1974). There were 99 distinctions of both kinds in 44 years including three for 1980 and three for 1987 (one highly commended).

References

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  1. ^ Kellaway, Kate (30 October 2005). "The witch is back in town" (review of The Worst Witch Saves the Day). The Observer. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Eccleshare, Julia (22 August 2021). "Jill Murphy obituary". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Ferguson, Donna (22 August 2022). "'I feel so lucky': in conversation with the late, beloved Jill Murphy". The Observer.
  4. ^ "Jill Murphy Obituary". The Times. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ^ Carlyle, Rachel (4 October 2015), "Bestselling children's author Jill Murphy: I have never thought about retiring", Daily Express.
  6. ^ a b c "Jill Murphy: Biography". Images of Delight: Original artwork from children's book illustrators. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d Brown, Helen (27 July 2019), "The Worst Witch author Jill Murphy: 'I have never liked being told what to do'", The Telegraph.
  8. ^ Craig, A. (16 October 2005). "Parenting: The Longest Goodbye". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  9. ^ Blair, Elizabeth (20 August 2021). "Jill Murphy, Author Of 'The Worst Witch' And 'Five Minutes Peace', Has Died At 72". NPR. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Jill Murphy", Walker Books.
  11. ^ Whiting, Kate (5 December 2015), "Book review: Five Minutes Peace", Irish Examiner.
  12. ^ Kingshill, Katie (7 September 2011), "Clive Allison: Publisher whose eclectic imprint was in the vanguard of independent houses" (obituary), The Independent.
  13. ^ Vincent, Alice (31 October 2014), "An oral history of The Worst Witch", The Telegraph.
  14. ^ "'Getting Published takes Perseverence and Luck' says Worst Witch Author Illustrator Jill Murphy". TeachWire. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  15. ^ Bridgewater, Daisy (6 March 2014), "Children's notebook: the enduring charms of Mildred Hubble", The Telegraph.
  16. ^ Baldwin, Louisa (17 April 2019). "The Worst Witch author Jill Murphy on why she is just like Mildred Hubble". Eastern Daily Press.
  17. ^ Carey, Joanna (September 2002). "Authorgraph No.136: Jill Murphy | Jill Murphy interviewed by Joanna Carey" (PDF). Books For Keeps. No. 136. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  18. ^ Interviews by Rebecca Armstrong: "How We Met: Jill Murphy & Katharine Holabird", The Independent, 3 May 2008.
  19. ^ Hudson, Catherine (8 October 2016). "5 Minute Chats: Author Jill Murphy and her new Worst Witch book". Junior. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  20. ^ Wild, Stephi (3 April 2019). "THE WORST WITCH Flies Into The West End For A Strictly Limited Season". Broadway World. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  21. ^ "The Worst Witch Live Transfers to the Wet End". David Higham. 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  22. ^ Orme, Steve (26 October 2020). "Worst Witch wins Olivier for Northampton theatre". Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  23. ^ Jill Murphy interview ("2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the classic children's picture book, Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy"), Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 25 February 2016.
  24. ^ a b c "Kate Greenaway Medal" Archived 16 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine. 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  25. ^ "Worst Witch author writes Hound Dog story", BBC Cornwall, 30 March 2010.
  26. ^ Michell, Julia (21 May 2018). "Roger Michell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  27. ^ Rees, Gareth (26 April 2016), "The Worst Witch's Jill Murphy" Archived 4 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Cornwall Life.
  28. ^ Steafel, Eleanor (6 October 2016), "Worst Witch author Jill Murphy: reading a book with a child is still nicer than sticking them in front of an iPad", The Times.
  29. ^ "Beloved children's author and illustrator Jill Murphy dies peacefully following a long struggle with cancer". Pan MacMillan. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  30. ^ "Jill Murphy: The Worst Witch and Large family author dies at 72". BBC News. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  31. ^ Bayley, Sian (20 August 2021). "Jill Murphy, author of The Worst Witch, dies aged 72". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Postgraduate Awards Day". 2007 news archive. Combined Universities in Cornwall. 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  33. ^ Deeley, Laura (27 October 2007). "Back on top after a bad spell". The Times.
  34. ^ Strzyżyńska, Weronika (20 August 2020). "Jill Murphy, children's author and illustrator, dies aged 72". The Guardian.
  35. ^ "Winners' Archive Picture Books | 1996 Category Winner". Sheffield Children's Book Award. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
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WARNING: For most WorldCat records see instead "Murphy, Jill" (without "1949–").
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