Antonia Forest Biography

Antonia Forest was the pen name of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein, born on 26 May 1915 in Hampstead, north London. She was the only child of part Russian-Jewish and Irish parents and was educated at South Hampstead High School and University College, London, where she studied journalism. Whilst at school she played cricket and netball and acted in school plays, activities which provide major plots in her school stories featuring the Marlow sisters.

Always intending to write professionally, Antonia Forest briefly worked in a library and held a government clerical job - during the Second World War she was a civil servant in an Army Record Office. She wanted to be an adult novelist and decided to write a children's book as a "cunning plan":

"I would write a book for the young, and concentrate on publishers who published both children's and adult fiction. Having had a book for children accepted, it shouldn't be too difficult (I thought) to move over, eventually, into the adult section." (Antonia Forest, August 2002)

The adult fiction never did materialise but her writing for children brought both critical acclaim and a devoted fan base. Her first book to be published was Autumn Term in 1948, and twelve more followed.

A very private person, Antonia Forest prefered to stay out of the limelight and very few biographical details appeared in print - even her real name remained a secret amongst friends until after her death. She was a keen reader and spent much time on her garden, as well as continuing to write. In 1947 she converted from Judaism, becoming a devout Catholic. Although she shunned publicity she was always happy to reply to readers' letters, and was delighted by the plans to reprint all of her books.

Antonia Forest died on the 28th November 2003, aged 88, following flu and pneumonia. Her funeral was held on 11th December 2003 near Bournemouth, England, where she had lived for most of her life.