This is the extraordinary story of Elisabeth Beresford, creator of The
Wombles, the furry, fun-loving recyclers of rubbish which became a
children's publishing and television sensation in the 1970s. What drove
this imaginative and prolific writer of children's books to invent The
Wombles? From her birth in Paris in 1926 to her death in the Channel
Islands in 2010, Beresford's working life was led to the full, driven by
the fear of debt. Married to the TV and radio sports commentator, Max
Robertson, and with two children, Elisabeth's life was never dull but
always uncertain. In addition to writing over 140 children's books, she
wrote romantic fiction for women's magazines, became a regular
contributor to the Today program, Woman's Hour (BBC) and Woman's
World (Central Office of Information). As a journalist she interviewed
a fascinating range of people from politicians and film stars to
children in the remote Australian Outback. With the publication of The
Wombles, and subsequently the enchanting BBC films, Elisabeth found
fame and for a very brief moment, fortune.
This is the first biography of 'Mrs Womble' as Elisabeth was known by
millions of fans. Written by her daughter with insider knowledge and
access to private family archives - diaries, letters, photographs and
family memories - this book relates the remarkable and often hilarious
life of one of the 20th century's most successful children's authors.
