Eva Ibbottson

Eva Ibbotson, born Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner, was a renowned British novelist who specialized in writing romance and children's fantasy novels. She was born in Vienna, Austria in 1925, but her family moved to England when Hitler came to power. Ibbotson was educated in several prestigious institutions, including Bedford College, Cambridge University, and the University of Durham. Although she had initially wanted to be a physiologist, she later changed her mind due to her dislike of animal testing. Instead, she became a teacher and a writer.

Ibbotson began her writing career as a television writer in 1965, and ten years later, she published her first novel, The Great Ghost Rescue. She went on to write numerous books, including The Secret of Platform 13, Journey to the River Sea, Which Witch?, Island of the Aunts, and Dial-a-Ghost. Her books are known for their imagination, humor, and magical creatures and places. Despite her dislike of the supernatural, she created these characters to help decrease her readers' fear of such things.

Ibbotson's love for nature is also evident in her work. For instance, she wrote Journey to the River Sea in honor of her husband, a former naturalist. She also disliked "financial greed and a lust for power" and often created antagonists in her books who had these characteristics. Some have noted the similarity between Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, particularly the platform number in the latter.

Throughout her writing career, Ibbotson received significant critical acclaim and won several awards. She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Journey to the River Sea, and has been a runner-up for many of the major awards for British children's literature. Her work has also been relabeled for the young adult market, gaining her a new audience. Ibbotson's love for Austria is also evident in her works such as The Star Of Kazan and A Song For Summer, which are set primarily in the Austrian countryside. She passed away in 2010, but her legacy as a beloved and acclaimed children's author lives on.