Thread by @sarasheridan

Ok. Enid Blyton aside - a thread of forgotten female Scottish children's writers. First Catherine Sinclair whose most famous novel, Holiday House, remained in print for a century. Besides writing success, she was a popular philanthropist There's a monument to her in Edinburgh /1

Anne Jane Cupples a populariser of science who wrote around 50 books for kids. Her titles include Bill Marlin’s Tales of the Sea & The Magic of Kindness. She corresponded with Charles Darwin, who was particularly impressed by her accurate observations of the emotions of dogs! /2

Mona Noel Paton wrote retellings of Jack the Giantkiller & Beauty & the Beast in the French tradition of 17th century feminist storytelling. As a child she met Lewis Carroll (steady!) & later also Oscar Wilde. I could go on all day every day about this stuff... /3

Marion Adams-Acton who used the pseudonym Jeanie Hering.The illegitimate child of the Duke of Hamilton, she was adopted by landscape painter George Hering. An adventurer, she one year decided that she would walk from London to Arran with her children for their summer holiday. /4

Henrietta Marshall wrote children’s history books including Our Island Story. She spoke directly to her readers ‘I hope you will not put this book beside your school books, but at quite the other end of the shelf beside Robinson Crusoe...’ She shaped kids' view of history. /5

Our history is rich - we forget so easily. These women were only 2 or 3 mothers ago! Next YA pioneer, Harriet Miller Davidson who never got over her father’s death & repeatedly wrote stories about daughters who were left by inspirational fathers.I can't even find a pic of her! /6

Sheila Stuart wrote as Mary Westwood, best known for her successful books about Alison & her brother Niall, based in NW Scotland. Alison was an inspiration to a generation of young female readers as an honest & brave girl who wasn’t, in the words of 1 reader, ‘too soppy’. /7

If you're interested in these writers go follow @_SELCIE_ - great project! Last up Elizabeth Cameron who wrote 19 children’s books (incl several featuring a character with learning difficulties based on her nephew who she said was ‘the best thing to happen to this family’) /8

1 tweet doesn't do Cameron justice. A feminist, during WW2 she worked in photographic intelligence - pretty kickass. When she returned to the Black Isle, she was disturbed by bus tours offering a view of her house. She promptly moved to somewhere more inaccessible. Some quine. /9

These are not all the kids writers in my book. Obvs I wrote about all of this! We don't memorialise women.We're 50% of the population & include some real high achievers but our stories get lost. So walk this way: shop.historicenvironment.scot/where-are-the-… & find out how amazing our foremothers were

Of course, Enid Blyton (who everyone is going on about today) was more famous but we have our very own racist bestselling kids author - Helen Bannerman (1862–1946), who wrote Little Black Sambo. Total. Shocker. /ends