Kathleen Fidler

Kathleen Fidler (Kathleen Annie Fidler Goldie) was a prolific author of children's books, born on 10 August 1899 in Coalville, Leicestershire.

She was raised in Wigan and North Wales, where she became a teacher and later school headmistress. She married in 1930 and moved to Edinburgh shortly afterwards, where she began writing stories for her children, finally settling in Lasswade in Midlothian. During the course of her career, she wrote over 80 novels and non-fiction books for children, many of her novels following the adventures of two families, The Brydons and The Deans. Her work has been praised for the depth and detail of research into the background of her stories.

After Fidler died in 1980, her publishers and members of the Edinburgh Children's Book Group established the Kathleen Fidler Award in memory of her work and support for children's literature. The award, which closed in 2002, was awarded to previously unpublished authors for novels for children aged 8 to 12.

To this day children read her books, which continue to be published and made available and are widely taught in Scottish schools. Popular books include: Flash the Sheep Dog Haki the Shetland Pony The Boy with the Bronze Axe and The Desperate Journey.