Like the author of Just Henry (2008) in her childhood, one of the novel's leading characters, Mrs Beaumont, lives at 61 Victoria Road North. Like Magorian, Mrs Beaumont is a children’s writer, and she befriends Henry and his friends Grace, Pip, and Jeffries, and their parents, Mrs Beaumont is instrumental in shaping the course of the narrative and in acting as a force for good in the development of the various characters. An endearing and indomitable figure, she represents a belief in the positive power of education and culture. Her house, an impromptu HQ for the various activities and projects of the children and their parents, appears throughout the novel.

Michelle Magorian (b. 6 Nov. 1947, Southsea) is a children’s novelist, and the author of Goodnight Mister Tom (1981), Back Home (1984), A Cuckoo in the Nest (1994), A Spoonful of Jam (1998), Just Henry (2008), Impossible (2014) and other works. Many of her novels have been adapted for film and television. She has been the recipient of awards, including The Costa Book Award for Children's Fiction, and The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

Magorian was born in Portsmouth and spent much of her childhood in the city, but her father’s career in the navy saw the family spend five years in Singapore and Australia. From the age of nine, Magorian lived at 61, Victoria Road North. Her early enthusiasm for Portsmouth’s many cinemas is reflected in the novel Just Henry, in which the city becomes Sternsea. Her father later worked as a school teacher and a barrister before teaching law at Portsmouth Polytechnic (later the University of Portsmouth). Inspired by spending much time at Portsmouth's King's Theatre Magorian trained at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama and launched into a successful stage career. During her thirties she became increasingly interested in children's fiction and decided to write a debut novel. The result, Goodnight Mr Tom, was very quickly an international success. Magorian's ability to understand childhood experience and the complex web of relations between adults and children combines with her interest in historical settings and the arts.

Now resident in Petersfield, Hampshire, Magorian received an honorary doctorate from the University of Portsmouth in 2007 and her glittering writing career continues. An adaptation of her novel, Tinsel was performed in The Studio, Petersfield in November 2019, with Magorian appearing in the cast.

ENTRY: Dr Mark Frost, Department of English Literature, University of Portsmouth.
If you have any comments or suggestions please email: mark.frost@port.ac.uk