Joanna Cannan

Joanna Cannan (1896-1961) was born in Oxford and educated on a very part-time basis at Wychwood School. She attended a finishing school in Paris, but was prevented later from taking up a place at the Slade School of Fine Art by World War One. After her marriage, she found herself rather marooned in the Wimbledon suburbs and took to writing as a means of supporting her family, given that her husband, despite an heroic war record, found earning a living in civilian life difficult. In 1931 the...See more

Joanna Cannan (1896-1961) was born in Oxford and educated on a very part-time basis at Wychwood School. She attended a finishing school in Paris, but was prevented later from taking up a place at the Slade School of Fine Art by World War One. After her marriage, she found herself rather marooned in the Wimbledon suburbs and took to writing as a means of supporting her family, given that her husband, despite an heroic war record, found earning a living in civilian life difficult. In 1931 the Pullein-Thompsons moved to the Oxfordshire countryside where she continued to write amongst a somewhat bohemian household. Although perhaps best known for her adult novels such as High Table, The Misty Valley and her detective fiction, such as Murder Included, Joanna wrote a number of children's books. Her three daughters: Josephine, Diana and Christine Pullein-Thompson arguably defined the post-war pony book genre, although it was Joanna herself who established this type of children's fiction, with her book A Pony for Jean and its sequels Another Pony for Jean and More Ponies for Jean. Fidra's first Joanna Cannan title will be We Met Our Cousins. This was written in 1937 and concerns the adventures of two London children sent to visit their wild cousins in the Scottish highlands. Our second title will be London Pride and following this we will be reprinting the three Jean books. We Met Our Cousins will have an introduction written by Josephine Pullein-Thompson. See less