David Severn

[Chrissie777]

Merged with an older thread.

An EBS member (was it Tony Summerfield?) mentioned David Severn's books quite a while ago.
Are they sequels or stand-alone books?
In which order should I read them?
Is there a bibliography on Severn on the Internet? I couldn't find anything (just like Norman Dale).
Are Severn's books similar to Blyton?
I would love to find out more about this author and would be delighted about any information.
Thanks!

[Tony Summerfield]

David Severn (Unwin) Bibliography

(December 3rd 1918 – February 11th 2010)

Crusoe Series (ill J. Kiddell-Monroe)
Rick Afire! (November 1942) (Bodley Head)
A Cabin For Crusoe (September 1943) (Bodley Head)
Wagon For Five (December 1944) (240 pages)
Hermit in the Hills (December 1945) (Bodley Head)
Forest Holiday (October 1946) (Bodley Head)

Warner Series (ill J. Kiddell-Monroe)
Ponies and Poachers (November 1947) (Bodley Head)
The Cruise of the Maiden Castle (November 1948) (Bodley Head)
Treasure For Three (October 1949) (Bodley Head)
Crazy Castle (November 1951) (Bodley Head)
Burglars and Bandicoots (October 1952) (Bodley Head)

Bill Badger Series (ill G. Higham)
Bill Badger and the Pine Martens (October 1947) (Bodley Head)
Wily Fox and the Baby Show (October 1947) (Bodley Head)
Bill Badger and the Bathing Pool (November 1948) (Bodley Head)
Wily Fox and the Christmas Party (December 1948) (Bodley Head
Bill Badger and the Buried Treasure (December 1950) (Bodley Head)
Wily Fox and the Missing Fireworks (December 1950) (Bodley Head)

Walnut Tree Meadow (Bodley Head)

Dream Gold (April 1949) (Bodley Head)
Kerin the Watcher (May 1949) (Dent)
Drumbeats (1957) (Bodley Head) (ill Richard Kennedy)
The Future Took Us (September 23rd 1957) (Bodley Head) (ill Jillian Richards)
The Green-Eyed Gryphon (June 12th 1958) (Hamish Hamilton) (ill Prudence Seward)
Three at the Sea (1959) (Bodley Head) (ill Margery Gill)
Foxy-Boy (1959) (Bodley Head) (ill Lynton Lamb)
Clouds Over the Alberhorn (1963) (Hamish Hamilton)
Dog For a Day (April 1965) (Hamish Hamilton)
The Girl in the Grove (July 18th 1974) (Allen & Unwin))
The Wishing Bone (October 6th 1977) (Allen & Unwin) (ill Shirley Felts)


There may not be one on the internet, but there is in my files. He has written several other books but they are all stand-alone novels, I could list them if you are desperate! Done!!

[Chrissie777]

I learnt yesterday from a Children's Book Website that I look at every so often that David Severn died a couple of months ago. The name probably means nothing to anyone other than us golden oldies (mouldy oldies!) and I must admit that I thought he had died many years ago. His first book, Rick Afire, was published a month or two after Five on a Treasure Island in 1942, and in the 40s and 50s he was a popular children's author. In a corner of the Cave I have his first ten books. I bought them initially because I really liked the dustwrappers (Will Scott's Cherrys series all over again), but I have read them all. If I get any response at all to this post, I might post small pics of these books as they are now very hard to come by, as are so many other books from this era.

Hi Tony,

You still can order them at amazon.co.uk. I just checked.

[Chrissie777]

There may not be one on the internet, but there is in my files. He has written several other books but they are all stand-alone novels, I could list them if you are desperate!

Yes, please list all his children's books if possible.

[John Pickup]

I've got all the Crusoe books but need Treasure for Three and Crazy Castle to complete the Warner set.
The illustrator, Joan Kiddell Monroe, was also responsible for the artwork in Malcolm Saville's Nettleford series.

[John Pickup]

I received a nice copy of Crazy Castle today, a 1st edition in a clean wrapper. I just need Treasure For Three now to complete the Warner set, I already have all the Crusoe books.

[Chrissie777]

How are the Crusoe books? Adventurous?

[Judith Crabb]

For those who like memoir I recommend 'Fifty Years with Father: A Relationship'. It's decades since I read it but its impact is powerful. Written by David Unwin about his father Stanley Unwin (Allen and Unwin publishers) it explains why David Unwin used the pseudonym Severn when he published his books for children.

[John Pickup]

How are the Crusoe books? Adventurous?

Not in the Enid Blyton sense, Chrissie. They are more relaxed, day to day stories of the country, similar to the Bannerdale books by Geoffrey Trease.

[Chrissie777]

Thank you, John. I'll give them a try.
Which one is volume 1?

[John Pickup]

Rick Afire is the first book in the series, Chrissie. The order then, if you like it, is;
A Cabin For Crusoe
Waggon For Five
Hermit In The Hills
Forest Holiday.

Rick Afire is about four children at Whitehouse Farm in the holidays. They meet a man called Bill Robinson and have some rather harmless adventures