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Margery Sharp

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Margery Sharp was a prolific English author. She spent her career writing for many different audiences. Her total body of work includes 25 novels for adults. She also wrote 14 novels for children. Beyond these books, she wrote four plays and two mysteries. She also produced numerous short stories. Her writing spanned many genres and formats. This variety allowed her to reach a wide range of readers throughout the 20th century.

Sharp's writing process involved many different types of media. She began her professional career by publishing stories in Punch magazine. She later became a contributor to several famous magazines. These included Harper's Bazaar, Ladies' Home Journal, and Good Housekeeping. Some of her books were even adapted into other forms of art. Her novels became Broadway plays and Hollywood films. This transition from page to screen helped her stories reach even larger audiences.

Her work can be divided into several distinct categories. She wrote adult novels, such as Rhododendron Pie, published in 1930. She also wrote wordless novels, like Mélisande, in 1960. For children, she created many stories, including the famous Rescuers series. This series began with the book The Rescuers in 1959. Although originally written for adults, it became extremely popular with children. The series included ten books in total, featuring characters like Miss Bianca and Bernard.

Sharp's life provided many influences for her storytelling. She was born in 1905 in the Salisbury district of Wiltshire, England. Her family originally came from northern Yorkshire. During her childhood, she lived in Malta for a period. She later used these experiences to write The Sun in Scorpio. She studied French at Bedford College, University of London. She also spent one year studying art at Westminster Art School. Her education even included competitive debating in the United States.

Many of her stories achieved significant success in the film industry. Her novel The Nutmeg Tree was adapted into a Broadway play called The Lady in Waiting. In 1948, it became the Hollywood film Julia Misbehaves. Her book Cluny Brown was turned into a 1946 film starring Jennifer Jones. Jones won an Academy Award for her role in this production. Another book, Britannia Mews, was purchased by 20th Century Fox in 1946. It was released as a film titled The Forbidden Street in 1949.

The Rescuers series remains her most famous contribution to children's literature. The books were illustrated by talented artists like Garth Williams and Erik Blegvad. Garth Williams was well known for illustrating other classics like Charlotte's Web. In 1977, Walt Disney Productions released an animated film based on her book. This film achieved both critical acclaim and financial success. Disney later released a sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, in 1990. While the sequel did not perform as well, the series remains iconic.

Sharp's literary legacy has faced changes over the decades. By 2008, all of her adult books were out of print, except for The Eye of Love. This meant her work was harder to find for many years. However, her stories saw a digital revival in 2016. That year, Kindle editions of ten of her novels were issued. This allowed new generations of readers to discover her work through electronic devices. She lived until 1991, leaving behind a vast collection of stories.

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