Mary Cadogan

{{Short description|English author (1928–2014)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}} {{Use British English|date=July 2015}} {{more citations needed|date=June 2015}}

'''Mary Cadogan''' (née '''Summersby'''; 30 May 1928 – 29 September 2014) was an English author. She wrote extensively on popular and children's literature, including biographies of the creator of William Brown from ''Just William'', Billy Bunter.

==Biography== Mary Summersby was born on 30 May 1928, in Ealing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sibley |first1=Brian |title=Mary Cadogan obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/06/mary-cadogan |access-date=21 April 2026 |work=The Guardian |date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

She started working for the BBC before the Second World War and met many of the popular entertainers of the time, and later worked on Schools Programming. In 1958, she started working for the Indian philosopher Krishnamurti and remained for nearly twenty years.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Mary Cadogan's writing career started late but her first book ''You're a Brick, Angela!'' was an immediate success. Her articles on the history of children's fiction have appeared in a number of magazines. She wrote a notable biography of Richmal Crompton, who wrote the ''Just William'' books. She first met her in the late 1940s, but reported that she was then too shy to ask any questions about her writings.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Cadogan |work=The Times |issue=71336 |date=24 October 2014 |page=64}}</ref>

She was editor of the ''Just William Society'' magazine for many years and also edited the Story Paper Collectors' Digest between 1987 and 2005. She was also a member of The London Old Boys' Book Club.

Her books, including her collaborations with Patricia Craig, covered a wide spectrum of popular fiction.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

She was interviewed for Gyles Brandreth's programme on the centenary of Billy Bunter that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2008.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Cadogan died on 29 September 2014, aged 86.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11137208/Mary-Cadogan-obituary.html|title=Mary Cadogan - obituary|publisher=The Telegraph|date=2 October 2014}}</ref>

==Awards and honours== * Honorary Doctor of Letters from Lancaster University, 2009

==Published books== *''You're a Brick, Angela! The Girls' Story from 1839-1975'' (with Patricia Craig) (1976) (updated and revised edition 1986) {{ISBN|0-575-03825-X}} *''Women and Children First: The Fiction of Two World Wars'' (with Patricia Craig) 1978) *''Richmal Crompton: The Woman Behind William'' (1986) {{ISBN|0-7509-3285-6}} *''The Lady Investigates: Women Detectives and Spies in Fiction'' (with Patricia Craig) (1986) {{ISBN|0-19-281938-0}} *''Frank Richards: The Chap Behind the Chums'' (1988) {{ISBN|0-905882-01-6}} *''Chin Up, Chest Out, Jemima: A Celebration of the Schoolgirls' Story'' (1989) *''The William Companion'' (1991) {{ISBN|0-333-51184-0}} *''Women with Wings: Female Flyers in Fact and Fiction'' (1992) *''And Then Their Hearts Stood Still: An Exuberant Look at Romantic Fiction Past and Present'' (1994) *''Just William Through the Ages'' (1994) {{ISBN|0-333-62097-6}} *''Mary Carries on: Reflections on Some Favourite Girls' Stories'' (2008)

She also wrote the chapter on girls' comics in the ''DC Thomson Bumper Fun Book'' (1977)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070805213141/http://www.gatewaymonthly.com/1004marycint.html Interview with Mary Cadogan]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadogan, Mary}} Category:1928 births Category:2014 deaths Category:20th-century English writers Category:English journalists Category:English women journalists Category:English biographers Category:English children's writers Category:English women non-fiction writers Category:English women children's writers Category:English women biographers