Joan Lingard, sad news

[elkiedee]

If you're on the 50 books in 2022 thread, I've posted there, sorry about duplication:

Another of my favourite childhood authors has died aged 90, on 12 July. The Twelfth Day of July is about two Belfast children who meet across the divide between Catholics and Protestants in their city. In the first sequel, Protestant Sadie and Catholic Kevin meet again and fall in love. This became a series of 5 books.

I also enjoyed her books about a Scottish girl called Maggie - I understand these were adapted for TV and my copies probably had cover pictures from the TV series but I think I might have been a bit young when it was broadcast - online info suggests that this was in the mid 1970s - even at my old age of 53, I would have only been about 7!
I have quite a few of her books, by no means all, and have read two of her last 3 books, What About Holly about a child in the care system, and Trouble in Cable Street (a young woman growing up in a working class Jewish family in East London during the Depression, how to respond to the aggression of the Blackshirts).

www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2022/07/14/joan-lingard-author-of-kevin-and-sadie-series-dies-aged-90/

I loved The Twelfth of July!!

Oh I did not know this! I met her in her house once when I worked at a book festival and was delivering books for signing. I loved her books when I was a child (50 ish now). I wonder if my 10yo would like them, it's been a along time and they might not be so relevant/meaningful now. She was a brilliant writer and a real lasting background to my younger self. RIP.

I loved her books as well. Sorry to hear she's died.

Oh.

And on the 12th, too.

Thank you for posting, I hadn't seen the news. Wonderful writer – childhood favourite here, too.

I love her books. I had a very Catholic upbringing and it was so rare and refreshing to see that reflected in books, especially in the way it was handled.

Oh I absolutely loved the 12th day of July and Across the barricades! There were others but my favourites were those two. I'm afraid as a 12 year old in 1982 I rather naively romanticised the NI conflict.

Sad to hear she's passed away. But 90 is a good age.

Sad news, I loved Across The Barricades at school!