Hester Burton

Hester Burton (6 December 1913 – 17 September 2000) was an English writer, mainly of historical fiction for children and young adults. She received the Carnegie Medal for her 1963 novel "Time of Trial," which like many of her books was illustrated by Victor Ambrus.
Early life.
She was born Hester Wood-Hill on 6 December 1913, in Beccles, Suffolk, where her father was elected town Mayor three times. From 1925 to 1936, she attended Headington School, Oxford and then St Anne's College, Oxford, where she received an honours degree in English. In 1937, she married Reginald W. B. Burton, a Classics don at Oriel College. They had three daughters.
Non-fiction.
In 1949, Burton published a biography of Barbara Bodichon, the 19th-century feminist, artist and educationalist. She worked for Oxford University Press from 1956 to 1964, contributing two volumes to the Oxford Sheldonian English Series for secondary schoolchildren: "Coleridge and the Wordsworths," 1953, and "Tennyson" in 1954. She worked as an assistant editor for the revised "Oxford Junior Encyclopaedia", and edited two 1959 anthologies: "A Book of Modern Stories" and "Her First Ball".
In addition, Burton edited works by friends and colleagues, including "Thomas Hardy: Distracted Preacher? Hardy's Religious Biography and its Influence on his Novels" by Timothy R. Hands and Mike Esbester.
Fiction.
Her first children's novel was "The Great Gale", published in 1960 and inspired by the devastation inflicted by the North Sea flood of 1953 on her home county of Suffolk. Her subject matter often reflected a radical approach first popularised by Geoffrey Trease. It included the slave trade in "To Ravensrigg" and the Captain Swing riots of the 1830s in "No Beat of Drum" and "Otmoor for Ever." She sometimes covered similar themes for different age groups; "Beyond the Weir Bridge" was written for teens, while the same issues and events appear in "Through the Fire," aimed at six-to-nine year olds. Several of her books are set in Suffolk, with many also having a maritime or naval setting.
Rather than seeking to balance diverging views, Burton presented her stories from the perspectives of an individual or group of individuals, which she viewed as more authentic. In a 1973 interview, she explained this as follows: "I am not all-wise or all-knowing... but neither were the people actually taking part... It is a wise precaution for a writer of historical fiction to limit this range of vision... [and] also much better art."
Many of her books, including "No Beat of Drum" and "A Time of Trial," reflect the impact of inequalities in society on her protagonists, their willingness to challenge these and the importance of education in that process. As shown by her biography of Victorian feminist Barbara Bodichon, Burton had an abiding interest in women's issues; her novels portrayed strong and independent heroines, with many of Ambrus' cover illustrations emphasising the female character.
The "Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature" summarises her novels as "featuring heroines with strong opinions; class tensions and social justice are recurring themes. Her writing is unsentimental... and her books accounts of ordinary young people affected by national events."
In a letter written in February, 2006, one of Burton's daughters wrote; "I could always tell when Mum had another book on her mind, she would start to cook the meal while still wearing her overcoat and hat."
Death.
Hester Burton died on 17 September 2000 in Oxford, after a stroke suffered at the age of 86.
Bibliography.
Fiction for younger readers.
These were published as part of the Antelope Series, intended for readers of six-nine years. 