Kathleen Fidler

Kathleen Fidler (Kathleen Annie Fidler Goldie) (10 August 1899 – 7 August 1980) was a prolific author of over 80 children's books.

Kathleen Annie Fidler was born on 10 August 1899 in Coalville, Leicestershire. She was raised in Wigan and educated in Wigan Girls' High School and at St. Mary's College in Bangor North Wales. She became a teacher and taught at St. Paul's Girls' School, Wigan, and was the headmistress of the Scot Lane Evening Institure between 1924 and 1930. She married James H. Goldie in 1930 and moved to Edinburgh shortly afterwards, where she began writing stories for her children. She finally settled in Wester Riggs, a large house in Broomieknowe, a secluded road in Lasswade, Midlothian. There her husband became the manager of a local branch of the Bank of Scotland. They had a daughter, Nancy, and a son, Hamish.

During the course of her career, she wrote over 80 novels and non-fiction books for children, many of her novels following the adventures of two families, The Brydons and The Deans. Her work has been praised for the depth and detail of research into the background of her stories. She also wrote scripts for the BBC.

After Kathleen Fidler died in August 7, 1980, her publishers and members of the Edinburgh Children's Book Group established the Kathleen Fidler Award in memory of her work and support for children's literature. The award, which closed in 2002, was awarded to previously unpublished authors for novels for children aged 8 to 12.

To this day children read her books, which continue to be published and made available and are widely taught in Scottish schools.

Her papers are held at the National Library of Scotland. Provided by Wikipedia