Gulbadan rumer godden biography children

British novelist and children's writer. Name variations: Mrs. Laurence Foster. Foster a stockbroker , in separated , later divorced ; married James Haynes-Dixon, on November 11, died ; children: first marriage two daughters, Jane and Paula, and a son who died in infancy. Chinese Puzzle P. Davies, ; The Lady and the Unicorn P. Joseph, ; illus. Jerome and the Lion Viking, ; illus.

Kingfishers catch fire rumer godden

McFadden's Hallowe'en Viking, ; illus. The daughter of a steamship agent, Rumer Godden and her three sisters grew up in East Bengal, India, where they were educated by their parents who encouraged them to read beyond their age. As children, the girls wrote long books together which were illustrated by Rumer's sister Jon Godden , who also became a novelist.

In , the girls were sent to school in England, where they had a difficult period adjusting to a more disciplined lifestyle. Rumer had a particularly hard time and attended five different schools in a period of six years. She finally settled in at Moira House in Eastbourne, a more progressive school where she received individualized attention.

The river by rumer godden

She was strongly influenced by the vice-principal, Mona Swann , whom she credits with giving her a thorough background in English and technique. After training as a dancing teacher, Godden returned to India and opened a dancing school in Calcutta. It became large and successful, after which she sold it and happily returned to full-time writing.