Jamila Gavin
Encyclopedia
Jamila Gavin is a British writer born in Mussoorie
, India
in the foothills of the Himalayas
.
Her father was Indian and her mother English. She learned to describe herself as "half and half." On her website she says that from her mixed background "I inherited two rich cultures which ran side by side throughout my life, and which always made me feel I belonged to both countries".
She first visited England when she was five, and settled there when she was 11. She worked in the music department of the BBC
before becoming a writer.
She wrote her first book after her first child was born because she became aware that there were few children's books reflecting their experience as multi-racial children. She has also written books reflecting her childhood in India, particularly her Surya Trilogy.
She now lives in Stroud
, Gloucestershire
.
n Sikh
family and showing the impact of the British Empire
and the Partition of India
on their lives. The three volumes are The Wheel of Surya (1992), The Eye of the Horse (1994) and The Track of the Wind (1997). All three books were shortlisted for the Guardian Award
for which The Wheel of Surya was special runner up in 1993.
Coram Boy
won the 2000 Whitbread Prize for a children's book. It is set in the 18th century, based on the Foundling Hospital
established by sea captain Thomas Coram. Coram Boy
has been dramatised by Helen Edmundson
and staged in a highly praised production by the Royal National Theatre
and briefly in 2007 on Broadway
.
The Three Indian... series, including Three Indian Goddesses and Three Indian Princesses are collections of short stories based around Indian legends.
Nine short stories were collected as The Magic Orange Tree and Other Stories
.
Grandpa Chatterji is a series for younger children.
One of the books in the series, Grandpa Chatterji, was adapted for television in 1997http://www.eagletv.co.uk/home/videos/grandpa.mov. Other books in the series are Grandpa Chatterji's Third Eye and Grandpa's Indian Summer.
Jamila Gavin also wrote The Robber Baron's Daughter, Forbidden Memories, I Want to be An Angel, Kamla and Kate, Someone's Watching,Someone's Waiting, The Hideaway and The Wormholers.
Mussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the foothills of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
.
Her father was Indian and her mother English. She learned to describe herself as "half and half." On her website she says that from her mixed background "I inherited two rich cultures which ran side by side throughout my life, and which always made me feel I belonged to both countries".
She first visited England when she was five, and settled there when she was 11. She worked in the music department of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
before becoming a writer.
She wrote her first book after her first child was born because she became aware that there were few children's books reflecting their experience as multi-racial children. She has also written books reflecting her childhood in India, particularly her Surya Trilogy.
She now lives in Stroud
Stroud
Stroud a town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England.Stroud may also refer to:*Stroud, New South Wales, Australia*Stroud, Ontario, Canada*Stroud , Gloucestershire, UK*Stroud...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
Works By Jamila Gavin
The Surya Trilogy is an epic story following the fortunes of two generations of an IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
family and showing the impact of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
on their lives. The three volumes are The Wheel of Surya (1992), The Eye of the Horse (1994) and The Track of the Wind (1997). All three books were shortlisted for the Guardian Award
Guardian Award
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of children's literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the United Kingdom during the preceding year. The award has been given annually since 1967, and is decided by a panel of authors and the...
for which The Wheel of Surya was special runner up in 1993.
Coram Boy
Coram Boy
Coram Boy is a very successful children's novel by Jamila Gavin. Published in 2000, it won Gavin a Whitbread Children's Book Award. The story follows a wide range of characters, from the rich Alexander Ashbrook to Toby, a young boy saved from an African slave ship, as their lives become closely...
won the 2000 Whitbread Prize for a children's book. It is set in the 18th century, based on the Foundling Hospital
Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1741 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply...
established by sea captain Thomas Coram. Coram Boy
Coram Boy (play)
Coram Boy is a play written by Helen Edmundson with music composed by Adrian Sutton, based on the 2000 children's novel of the same name by Jamila Gavin, an epic adventure that concerns the theme of child cruelty...
has been dramatised by Helen Edmundson
Helen Edmundson
Helen Edmundson is a British playwright particularly well-known for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage.Edmundson's first play Flying was produced at the National Theatre Studio in 1990...
and staged in a highly praised production by the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and briefly in 2007 on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
The Three Indian... series, including Three Indian Goddesses and Three Indian Princesses are collections of short stories based around Indian legends.
Nine short stories were collected as The Magic Orange Tree and Other Stories
The Magic Orange Tree and Other Stories
The Magic Orange Tree and Other Stories is a collection of nine short stories by Jamila Gavin. Each story of this collection is a product of the child's imagination, according to Gavin in the introduction. The events in the story did not take place anywhere, but are some fantasies in the main...
.
Grandpa Chatterji is a series for younger children.
One of the books in the series, Grandpa Chatterji, was adapted for television in 1997http://www.eagletv.co.uk/home/videos/grandpa.mov. Other books in the series are Grandpa Chatterji's Third Eye and Grandpa's Indian Summer.
Jamila Gavin also wrote The Robber Baron's Daughter, Forbidden Memories, I Want to be An Angel, Kamla and Kate, Someone's Watching,Someone's Waiting, The Hideaway and The Wormholers.
List of works
- The Magic Orange Tree
- Three Indian Princesses
- The Singing Bowls
- See No Evil
- Grandpa Chatterji
- The Wheel of Surya
- The Eye of the Horse
- The Track of the Wind
- Grandpa's Indian Summer
- The Wormholers
- The Girl Who Rode on a Lion
- The Temple by the Sea
- The Lake of Stars
- Our Favorite Stories
- Monkey in the Stars
- Coram Boy
- Grandpa Chatterji's Third Eye
- Fine Feathered Friend
- Three Indian Goddesses
- Star Child On Clark Street
- Danger By Moonlight
- Out of India: Walking on My Hands
- The Whistling Monster
- Celebration Stories, Coming Home
- An Interview With Jamila Gavin
- From Out of the Shadows
- The Blood Stone
- The Robber Baron's Daughter
- Deadly Friend
- I Want to be An Angel
- Forbidden Memories
- Kamla and Kate
- Kamla and Kate Again
- Someone's Watching, Someone's Waiting
- The Hideaway
- Double Dare
- Storyworlds (a collection of four books: Grandma's Surprise, The Mango Tree, Presents and Who Did It?)
- Digital Dan
- Ali and the Robots
- Stories From the Hindu World
- The Bow of Shiva
- The Turning Point
- Alexander the Greatest
- Fox
- Derka Derb"