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Lynne Reid Banks (31 July 1929 – 4 April 2024) was a British author of books for children and adults, including The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 15 million copies and has been successfully adapted to film. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, published in 1960, was an instant and lasting best seller. It was later made into a movie of the same name and led to two sequels, The Backward Shadow and Two is Lonely. Banks also wrote a biography of the Brontë family, entitled Dark Quartet, and a sequel about Charlotte Brontë, Path to the Silent Country.

Life and career

Banks was born in Barnes, London, the only child of doctor James and actress Muriel Reid Banks. She was evacuated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during World War II, with her mother and cousin, and returned after the war was over. She attended St Teresa's School Effingham in Surrey. Before becoming a writer, Banks was an actress, attending drama school, and in 1955 began working as a television journalist at ITN, one of the first women to do so in Britain. However, Banks felt she was pigeonholed into writing about certain subjects, and was often put to work writing scripts.

In 1960, Banks released her first book, The L-Shaped Room, to massive success.

In 1962, Banks emigrated to Israel, where she taught for eight years on a kibbutz, Yas'ur. In 1965, she married Chaim Stephenson (1926–2016), a sculptor, with whom she had three sons. Although not Jewish, she became an Israeli citizen.

Although the family returned to England in 1971, the influence of her time in Israel can be seen in some of her books (including One More River and its sequel, Broken Bridge, and other books, such as An End to Running and Children at the Gate) which are set partially or mainly on kibbutzim. In England, the family lived in the London suburbs and Beaminster, Dorset.

In October 2013, Banks won the J. M. Barrie award for outstanding contribution to children's arts.

In her later years, Banks lived in Shepperton, Surrey. She died from cancer at a care facility in Surrey, on 4 April 2024, at the age of 94.

Works

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Children's novels

• The Farthest-Away Mountain, illus. Victor Ambrus (London: Abelard-Schuman, 1976); US ed., 1977; also illus. Dave Henderson
• The Adventures of King Midas, illustrated by George Him (J. M. Dent, 1976), LCCN 76-379385; illus. Joseph A. Smith (William Morrow & Co, 1992), LCCN 92-3795
• The Indian in the Cupboard series
  • The Indian in the Cupboard (1980)
  • The Return of the Indian (1985)
  • The Secret of the Indian (1989)
  • The Mystery of the Cupboard (1993)
  • The Key to the Indian (1998)
• The Fairy Rebel. Turtleback. 1985. ISBN 978-0-606-00995-9., illus. William Geldart
• Harry the Poisonous Centipede, illustrated by Tony Ross
  • Harry the Poisonous Centipede: A Story to Make You Squirm. Morrow/HarperCollins. 1 August 1997. ISBN 0-688-14711-9.
  • Harry the Poisonous Centipede's Big Adventure. HarperCollins. 2001. ISBN 0-06-029139-7.
  • Harry the Poisonous Centipede Goes to Sea (2006)
• I, Houdini: The Autobiography of a Self-educated Hamster. J. M. Dent. 1978. ISBN 978-0-460-06873-4.; Illustrations Terry Riley, US ed., 1988
• Angela and Diabola. Avon/HarperCollins. 1 May 1997. ISBN 0-380-97562-9.
• Alice-By-Accident. HarperCollins. 2000. ISBN 0-380-97865-2.
• Tiger, Tiger. Delacorte. 2004. ISBN 978-0-00-719041-6.
• Bad Cat Good Cat, illus. Tony Ross (2011)
• Ella and her bad Yellow T-Shirt, illus. Omri Stephenson (OGS, 2011)
• The Wrong-Coloured Dragon, illus. Joanna Scott (Kindle, 2012)
• Uprooted. HarperCollins. 2015. ISBN 978-0-00-813235-4. OCLC 881018287.
• The Red Red Dragon (Walker Books, 2022)

Short stories

• The Magic Hare. Morrow/HarperCollins. 1 August 1993. ISBN 0-688-10895-4.; illus. Barry Moser and Hilda Offen
• Sarah and After: the matriarchs (The Bodley Head, 1975) LCCN 75-318081; US title, Sarah and After: five women who founded a nation – Bible stories

Older readers

• One More River. Vallentine, Mitchell. 1973. ISBN 978-0-85303-149-9.
• My Darling Villain (Bodley Head, 1977); US ed., 1986
• The Writing on the Wall. Harper & Row. 1981. ISBN 978-0-06-020389-4.88
• Melusine: A Mystery. Hamilton Children's. 1988. ISBN 978-0-241-12548-9.; US ed., 1989
• One More River, revised edition (NY: William Morrow, 1992), LCCN 91-43152
• Broken Bridge. Hamish Hamilton. 1994. ISBN 978-0-241-13454-2. LCCN 94026636.; US ed., 1994 (revised?) – sequel to One More River
• Maura's Angel (1998)
• Moses in Egypt: A Novel Inspired by The Prince of Egypt and The Book of Exodus. Thomas Nelson Incorporated. July 1998. ISBN 978-0-8499-5898-4. LCCN 99190535.
• The Dungeon. HarperCollins. 2002. ISBN 0-06-623782-3.
• Stealing Stacey (2004)

Adult novels

• All in a Row: a comedy in three acts (Deane, 1956), LCCN 56-41380
• The L-Shaped Room (Chatto & Windus, 1960); US ed., 1961
• An End to Running. Chatto & Windus. 1962. published in the US as House of Hope (Simon & Schuster, 1962)
• Children at the Gate (Chatto & Windus, 1968)
• The Backward Shadow. Simon and Schuster. 1970. ISBN 978-0-671-20671-0. – sequel to The L-Shaped Room
• Two is Lonely (Chatto & Windus, 1974) – completes the L-Shaped Room trilogy
• Dark Quartet: the story of the Brontës (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976); US ed., 1977 – Biographical fiction

• Path to the Silent Country: Charlotte Brontë's Years of Fame. Delacorte Press. 1977. ISBN 978-0-440-06985-0.; US ed., 1978
• Defy the Wilderness (Chatto & Windus, 1981)
• The Warning Bell (Hamish Hamilton, 1984); US ed., 1986
• Casualties (1986); US ed., 1987
• Fair Exchange (Piatkus, 1998) ISBN 978-0-7499-0424-1

Non-fiction

• Letters to My Israeli Sons: The Story of Jewish Survival. W. H. Allen. 1979. ISBN 978-0-491-02610-9. LCCN 80455044.
• Torn Country: an oral history of the Israeli war of independence (New York: Franklin Watts, 1982)

Picture books

• The Spice Rack, illus. Omri Stephenson (OGS Designs, 2010)
• Polly and Jake, illus. Omri Stephenson (OGS, 2010)

References

1. "Lynne Reid Banks". Bookclub. 6 June 2010. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014. James Naughtie and readers talk to the celebrated author Lynne Reid Banks about her first novel, The L-Shaped Room.
2. "Home". lynnereidbanks.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
3. Biography Archived 18 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Watts, Janet (5 April 2024). "Lynne Reid Banks obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
5. ^ Chace, Rebecca (5 April 2024). "Lynne Reid Banks, Author of 'The Indian in the Cupboard,' Dies at 94". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
6. Kenrick, Vivienne (4 November 2006). "Lynne Reid Banks". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
7. Banks, Lynne Reid (14 August 2011). "TV news in the 50s was more thrilling than The Hour". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023. The BBC's drama set in a TV newsroom may be a murder mystery, but my days as a pioneering TV reporter were far more exciting
8. Bushby, Helen; Lindrea, Victoria (5 April 2024). "Lynne Reid Banks: The Indian in the Cupboard author dies aged 94". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
9. Banks, Lynne Reid (28 March 2016). "Chaim Stephenson obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
10. "Awards". Action for Children’s Arts. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023. 2013: The JM Barrie Award was presented to Lynne Reid Banks, author of more than forty books for children and a tireless champion of children's arts for many years.
11. "About me". lynnereidbanks.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
12. "The Indian In The Cupboard author Lynne Reid Banks dies aged 94". NewsChain. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
13. "Harry the Poisonous Centipede". Kirkus Reviews. 15 June 1997. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
14. "Harry The Poisonous Centipede's Big Adventure". Kirkus Reviews. 1 February 2001. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
15. "I, HOUDINI: The Autobiography of a Self-Educated Hamster by Lynne Reid Banks". Kirkus Reviews. 6 May 1988. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
16. "Angela and Diabola". Kirkus Reviews. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
17. "Alice-By-Accident". Kirkus Reviews. 1 June 2000. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
18. "Tiger, Tiger". Kirkus Reviews. 1 June 2005. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
19. "Uprooted". Kirkus Reviews. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
20. "The Magic Hare". Kirkus Reviews. 15 July 1993. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
21. "Mixtures of shock and splendor". The Age (Newspapers.com). 6 September 1975. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
22. "Maura's Angel". Kirkus Reviews. 15 May 1998. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
23. "The Dungeon". Kirkus Reviews. 1 September 2002. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
24. "DARK QUARTET: The Story of the Brontes by Lynne Reid Banks". Kirkus Reviews. 1 February 1977. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Lynne Reid Banks at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Search Results: "Lynne Reid Banks" at Kirkus Reviews
• Lynne Reid Banks at Library of Congress, with 66 library catalogue records
• Lynne Reid Banks at IMDb
• Lynne Reid Banks discography at Discogs

• 1929 births
• 2024 deaths
• 20th-century English novelists
• 20th-century English women writers
• 21st-century English novelists
• 21st-century English women writers
• Deaths from cancer in England
• English children's writers
• English expatriates in Canada
• English expatriates in Israel
• English women novelists
• Kibbutzniks
• Naturalized citizens of Israel
• Novelists from London
• People educated at St Teresa's School
• People from Barnes, London
• ITN newsreaders and journalists