Lavinia Derwent

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

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

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
  • 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
  1. "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.
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